New species of the genus Spio (Annelida, Spionidae) from the southern and western coasts of Korea

Abstract

A new spionid polychaete, Spio pigmentata sp. nov., is described from the southern and western coasts of Korea. This new species differs from its congeners by the combination of the following morphological characteristics: the presence of orange-brown pigmentation on the anterior part of the prostomium, black pigmentation on the peristomium and along the body, U-shaped nuchal organs, a comparatively long extension of metameric dorsal ciliated organs, three pairs of white dots per chaetiger, two to three posterior abranchiate chaetigers, and the presence of tridentate neuropodial hooded hooks. The partial 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and nuclear 18S rDNA sequences of the new species and Spio sp. 2 reported by Abe and Sato-Okoshi (2021) from Japan showed high similarity, indicating that these two specimens belong to the same species. A detailed description and illustrations of the new species, together with molecular information, are provided.