A new genus and species of Syllidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) commensal with octocorals
Glasby, C.J.; Watson, C. (2001). A new genus and species of Syllidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) commensal with octocorals. The Beagle 17: 43-51 In: The Beagle: Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory: Darwin. ISSN 0811-3653, more |   |
| Keywords | Alcyonacea [WoRMS]; Octocorallia [WoRMS]; Polychaeta [WoRMS]; Syllidae Grube, 1850 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal | | Author keywords | Syllidae, Polychaeta, octocoral, alcyonacean, taxonomy, symbiotic, commensal, new genus, new species |
| Authors | | Top | - Glasby, C.J., more
- Watson, C.
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| Abstract | A survey of cnidarian material from Darwin Harbour, northern Australia, in the collection of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, yielded two species of commensal syllid polychaetes: Haplosyllis cf. bisetosa Hartmann- Schröder, 1960, an alcyonacean commensal previously known only from the Red Sea, plus a new species (and genus) of Syllinae, Alcyonosyllis phili. The new genus is characterised by having simple hooked chaetae with a subdistal boss and unarticulated dorsal cirri which are arranged in an alternating pattern of large, dorsally displaced cirri and smaller, lateral ones. Haplosyllis xeniaecola Hartmann-Schröder, 1993, which is also a commensal of alcyonaceans, is transferred to this new genus. Alcyonosyllis phili was found on nephtheid soft corals and gorgonians from the northwestern, northern and eastern coasts of Australia; it also occurs in southern New Guinea. Observations on the number of hosts harbouring A. phili and Haplosyllis cf. bisetosa and the number of worms per host are also provided. |
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