A new species of the Spirobranchus kraussii complex, S. akitsushima (Annelida, Polychaeta, Serpulidae), from the rocky intertidal zone of Japan

Abstract

A new species of Spirobranchus (Annelida: Serpulidae) is described based on specimens collected at the coastal Shonan area of Sagami Bay and the adjacent areas of Honshu, Japan. Spirobranchus akitsushima sp. nov. forms large aggregations in the intertidal rocky zone of warm-temperate Japanese shores. This species was referred to as Pomatoleios kraussii (Baird, 1864) until the monotypic genus Pomatoleios was synonymized with Spirobranchus. This new species is formally described based on morphologically distinct Japanese specimens with supporting DNA sequence data. The calcareous opercular endplate of Spirobranchus akitsushima sp. nov. lacks a distinct talon, but some specimens have a slight rounded swelling on the endplate underside, while in other species of the S. kraussii complex a talon is present, usually extended, and with bulges. We examined sub-fossil tube aggregations of the new species and suggest that such aggregation stranded ashore is a good indicator of vertical land movements (uplift and subsidence) resulting from past events, such as earthquakes, in Honshu, Japan.