Caulleriella mediterranea, a new species of polychaete (Annelida: Cirratulidae) from the central Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

A new species belonging to the genus Caulleriella Chamberlin, 1919 (Polychaeta: Cirratulidae) is described from coastal soft bottom sediments off the northwest Italy coast in fine sand at around 8 m depth. Caulleriella mediterranea sp. nov. is characterized by a slightly biannulate elongate peristomium, bidentate hooks with main fang slightly curved, a long apical tooth, and a narrow wing on the convex side and absence of capillary chaetae in neuropodia. A comparison is made with specimens that fit with the congeneric species C. alata, probably confused in the past with C. mediterranea sp. nov. Morphological characters important for differentiation of these species are discussed. The description of C. mediterranea sp. nov. testifies to an increasing trend of knowledge on cirratulid diversity in the Mediterranean Sea, a family characterized by many species considered early indicators of organic enrichment http://www.zoobank.org/?lsid=urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:227C3794-DD91-4747-900F-9308E59C0D33 http://www.zoobank.org/?lsid=urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0F35B814-A61D-4705-AEE0-E5A5D8C69B0C

Keywords

• Polychaeta
• new species
• Tyrrhenian Sea