ZooKeys (Nov 2011)

Sphaerosyllis levantina sp. n. (Annelida) from the eastern Mediterranean, with notes on character variation in Sphaerosyllis hystrix Claparède, 1863

  • Sarah Faulwetter,
  • Georgios Chatzigeorgiou,
  • Bella S. Galil,
  • Artemis Nicolaidou,
  • Christos Arvanitidis

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.150.1877
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 150, no. 0
pp. 327 – 345

Abstract

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Examination of polychaete specimens from Haifa Bay (Israel, eastern Mediterranean Sea) revealed several individuals exhibiting morphological characteristics similar to Sphaerosyllis hystrix Claparède, 1863. A detailed morphometrical analysis of the Israeli specimens in comparison to specimens of S. hystrix and S. boeroi Musco, Çinar & Giangrande, 2005 supported the description of the former as a new species, S. levantina sp. n. Individuals of S. hystrix formed a very heterogeneous group with strong character variations in the analysis and the presumed cosmopolitan distribution of the species is discussed based on literature records.