Notaulax yamasui sp. n. (Annelida, Sabellidae) from Okinawa and Ogasawara, Japan, with notes on its ecology

Abstract

The polychaete Notaulax yamasui sp. n. (Sabellidae) is described from Okinawa and Ogasawara, south Japan, where it was found living embedded in a dead skeleton of the coral Porites sp. The new species is characterized by the presence of a pigmented sub-distal swelling on the tips of the crown radioles, a unique feature among species of the genus. Besides, its collar chaetae have an L-shape orientation, and the dorsal basal flanges of the branchial lobes are long and have a dorsal joint.