Composetia marmorata (Horst, 1924) Pamungkas & Glasby, 2015

Pamungkas, Joko & Glasby, Christopher J., 2015, Taxonomy of reproductive Nereididae (Annelida) in multispecies swarms at Ambon Island, Indonesia, ZooKeys 520, pp. 1-25 : 5-6

Composetia marmorata (Horst, 1924) comb. n. Fig. 3C, D

Nereis (Ceratonereis) marmorata Horst, 1924: 177-178, pl. 34, figs 13-16.

Type locality.

between Gisser and Seram-Laut, Maluku, Indonesia.

Material examined.

3 males (RCLA.Ann.042), 1 female (RCLA. Ann. 043), Suli, Ambon Island, Indonesia, 3°37'38.2"S, 128°18'25.0"E, coll. R. Alik, 18 March 2014 ; 3 males (RCLA.Ann.044), 2 females (RCLA. Ann. 045), Suli, Ambon, Indonesia, 3°37'38.2"S, 128°18'25.0"E, coll. R. Alik, 19 March 2014 ; 1 male (RCLA. Ann. 046), Mahia, Ambon Island, Indonesia, 3°44'42.6"S, 128°11'24.6"E, coll. A.S. Leatemia, 19 March 2014 ; 3 males (MZB.Pol.00161), 2 females (MZB. Pol. 00162), Suli, Ambon Island, Indonesia, 3°37'38.2"S, 128°18'25.0"E, coll. R. Alik, 18 March 2014 ; 1 male (NTM W25889 ) , 1 female (NTM W25888 ), Suli , Ambon Island, Indonesia, 3°37'38.2"S, 128°18'25.0"E, coll. R. Alik, 19 March 2014 ; 1 ex. (NTM W23811 ), Salawati , Raja Ampat, Indonesia coll. unknown, 18 August 1899 (donated to NTM, formerly ZMA VPol 0980).

Comparative material.

Nereis (Ceratonereis) marmorata syntypes: 17 ex. (ZMA Vpol 0869) and 5 ex. (RMNH 1352), Siboga Stn. 172, Gisser anchorage, between this island and Seram- Laut , Maluku, Indonesia, 3°53'9.2"S, 130°51'56.2"E, coll. 26 August 1899. Composetia marmorata : 1 ex. (NTM W22530 ), 1 ex. (NTM W22615 ), 1 ex. (NTM W22797 ), Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, coll. CREEFS surveys 2008-2010 .

Size range.

Male: length (20-40 mm), maximum width (3.0-5.0 mm). Female: length (17-31 mm), maximum width (2.5-4.9 mm).

Diagnosis.

Composetia species having distinctive marmorated stripes on the prostomium and anterior body (Fig. 3D). Paragnaths conical, arranged as follows: Areas I: 1-2; II: 7-14; III: 9-13; IV: 14-16; absent areas V-VIII. Male and female epitokes similar (Fig. 3C, D), except male has pygidial rosette (lacking in female) and natatory region dorsal cirri are sub-distally swollen (not scalloped) but unmodified in female; pre-natatory region comprising 17-18 chaetigers; basally swollen dorsal cirri on chaetigers 1 to 6 or 7; basally swollen ventral cirri on chaetigers 1 to 5; natatory region extends to pygidium. Female with eggs unpigmented.

Remarks.

The distinctive marmorated (=veined) stripes on this species of Composetia facilitate identification. The markings are as described by Horst (1924: 177) for Nereis (Ceratonereis) marmorata , and paragnath counts match well, although Horst reports considerable variation. Examination of paragnath numbers on the syntype material confirmed the identification. Hartmann-Schröder’s (1985) tentative allocation of the species to Composetia is confirmed, and formalized here. Specimens from Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef described by Glasby (2015) are likely to be conspecific.

Distribution.

Indonesia. Lizard Island, Australia.