Rescuing the past: description of two new species of Meiodorvillea Jumars, 1974 (Annelida: dorvilleidae) based on museum specimens and literature

Abstract

The genus Meiodorvillea Jumars, 1974 was established to better categorize the species M. minuta (Hartman 1965), which was previously classified under the genus Protodorvillea Pettibone 1961. The prefix “Meio” refers to the meiofaunal size of the genus, and along with their fragile bodies makes these organisms difficult to collect and identify. As a result, many specimens are only deposited at the genus or family level in museums. By examining unidentified specimens deposited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, we identified and described two new species of the genus: Meiodorvillea wolfi sp. nov. and Meiodorvillea smithsoniensis sp. nov. The former is morphologically distinct from its congeners due to its anteriormost free maxillae plate, which has a pincer-like format. The latter species is characterized by the presence of furcate chaetae in the first two parapodia, which are subsequently replaced by a geniculate chaeta in the next few parapodia, and then revert to a furcate chaeta thereafter. An updated identification key for the species of Meiodorvillea and an emended diagnosis have also been provided.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1159E466-D906-4363-96D9-56B434CBD9B7

Keywords

• Taxonomy
• morphology
• Euncida, collections
• “Polychaeta”