Aspidosiphon (Aspidosiphon) elegans (Chamisso and Eysenhardt, 1821)

Açik, Şermin & Online, Published, 2014, Checklist of Sipuncula from the coasts of Turkey, Turkish Journal of Zoology 38 (6), pp. 723-733 : 732

Aspidosiphon (Aspidosiphon) elegans (Chamisso and Eysenhardt, 1821)

Description: Body wall thin, transparent or semitransparent ( Figure 7C ). Ungrooved anal shield granulous. Caudal shield usually weakly developed. Dark brown bidentate compressed hooks on rings located on distal part of introvert. Dark conical hooks scattered on proximal part of introvert. Nephridia orange or dark brown. Two black eye spots present.

Distribution: Western Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, western Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea ( Cutler, 1994), and Mediterranean Sea ( Wesenberg-Lund, 1957; Açik, 2011).

Aspidosiphon (Aspidosiphon) misakiensis Ikeda, 1904

Description: Body wall semitransparent ( Figure 7D ). Anal shield without grooves or furrows. Caudal shield with vague radial grooves. Spine-like papillae scattered on introvert. Light brown bidentate hooks in rings followed by scattered unidentate hooks. Gut loosely wound in ill-defined coils. Two retractors joined for most of their length, arising very close to posterior end of trunk. Nephridiopores posterior to anus or at same level. Two black eye spots present.

Distribution: Pacific Ocean, eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea ( Cutler, 1994; Açik, 2011).

Figures

Figure 7. External morphology of species. A) Apionsoma (A.) murinae bilobatae, B) Aspidosiphon (A.) mexicanus, C) Aspidosiphon (A.) elegans, D) Aspidosiphon (A.) misakiensis, E) Aspidosiphon (A.) muelleri. Scale bars: A = 1 mm, B and C = 2 mm, D = 1 mm, E = 2 mm (A–E = Aegean Sea, original).