Pectinaria kanabinos, Hutchings & Peart, 2002

Hutchings, P. & Peart, R., 2002, A Review of the Genera of Pectinariidae (Polychaeta) Together with a Description of the Australian Fauna, Records of the Australian Museum 54, pp. 99-127 : 121

Pectinaria kanabinos n.sp.

Figs. 11C–D, 12E–F, 13, 16A–B, 17A–C, Tables 4, 6

Type material. HOLOTYPE: 1, AM W25616*, 24.vi. 1975, 14 mm long, 3 & 2 mm wide . PARATYPES: 1, AM W8534 *, 24.vi. 1975, 16 mm long, 4 & 2 mm wide; 1 , AM W8535 *, 24.vi. 1975, 18 mm long, 3 & 2 mm wide; 1 , BMNH 2001.67 *, 26.xi. 1975, 15 mm long, 4 & 2 mm wide .

Type locality. Queensland, Calliope River, north of Gladstone , 24°01'S 150°59'E, collected by P. Saenger.

Additional material examined. NEW SOUTH WALES: Lake Macquarie, Black Neds Bay , 32°59'S 151°38'E, 1, AM W7724 *. QUEENSLAND: Halifax Bay, north of Townsville , 19°10'S 146°38'E, 5 m, i.1977, 1, AM W202174 ; 5 m, vii.1977, 2, AM W202186 *; 5 m, vi.1977, 1, AM W202174 ; 2 m, i.1977, 1, AM W202176 *. Material examined ranged from 10 to 24 mm long & 1 to 5 & 0.5 to 3 mm wide .

Description. Preserved specimen grey to pale cream in colour, body not robust. Rim of cephalic veil with 15 long cirri tapering evenly to fine thread-like tips. Cephalic veil completely free from operculum forming dorsal semi-circle surrounding numerous peristomial palps. Peristomial palps papillose, thick and numerous.

Raised opercular margin well developed and smooth. Operculum with 14 pairs of paleae, pale, clear, pointed gradually tapering to fine tips, curved dorsally, long ( Fig. 16A).

First pair of tentacular cirri inserted on anterior edge of segment 2. Ventral ridge connecting second pair of tentacular cirri on segment 3 incised to form glandular lobes. Chaetiger 2 with anteroventral lobe large and broad; anterior margin of lobe smooth; posterodorsal lobe absent. Two pairs of well-developed, comb-like, stalked branchiae, consisting of loose, flat lamellae, lying flattened against the body.

Chaetigers 1 to 3 (segments 5 to 7) with notopodia and notochaetae only. Chaetigers 4 to 16 with both notopodia, neuropodia, notochaetae and neurochaetae. Notopodia and notochaetae of chaetigers 1 to 3 and 15 to 17 reduced in size compared to those on chaetigers 4 to 14. Chaetiger 17 with notopodia and notochaetae only. Notochaetae capillaries of varying length with one margin strongly pectinated ( Figs. 11C–D, 17A). Neuropodia wedge-shaped, with rounded margins from midbody onwards, posteriorly the ventrolateral margins becoming hook-shaped. Neurochaetae with major teeth arranged in two vertical rows with about 12 teeth per row, although the basal teeth are small and difficult to count ( Figs. 12E–F, 17B–C).

Posterior scaphe and abdomen distinctly separated. Posterior 5 segments fused to form a scaphe which is longer than broad, with crenulated margins. Scaphal hooks present, 5 pairs, fine, small, pale, colourless ( Fig. 9F).

Glandular areas present as small pad-like areas on each segment present laterally along entire body length, and welldeveloped mid ventral glandular area between segments 2 and 3. Nephridial papillae not observed.

Variation. The number of cirri on the cephalic veil present varies from 10 to 16, 12–14 pairs of paleae and 4–6 pairs of scaphal hooks and does not appear to be related to animal size.

Remarks. Pectinaria kanabinos n.sp. can be distinguished from all other described species of Pectinaria by the following combination of characters: 10–16 cephalic cirri on the cephalic veil, 12 to 14 pairs of acute, needle-like paleae, and 4 to 6 pairs of fine scaphal hooks (see Table 4). The shape of the paleae is characteristic. Other species with fine paleae are P. meredithi Long, 1973 , P. papillosa Caullery, 1944 , P. profunda Caullery, 1944 and P. californiensis Hartman, 1941 . All these species have a larger number of cirri on the cephalic veil, and more pairs of paleae and scaphal hooks than P. kanabinos , which for these reasons we describe as a new species.

Etymology. The specific name kanabinos is from the Greek word meaning long and slender, which describes the paleae of this species.

Distribution. Species described from two locations in Queensland, and one specimen collected from Lake Macquarie, New South Wales ( Fig. 10).

Habitat. Sheltered bays or rivers, with muddy sediments, in shallow depths.