Leonnates persicus Wesenberg-Lund, 1949

Leonnates persica Wesenberg-Lund 1949: 275 –277, figs 11–12; Hartman 1974a: 618; Ben-Eliahu 1991: 322; Day 1967: 328 – 329, figs 14–15.

Leonnates persicus . Qiu & Qian 2000: 1129.

Material examined. Iran, Gulf of Oman, Khalasi mangroves, one specimen (ZUTC Ann. 6151).

Description. Color in alcohol cream. Body 19 mm long, 3.5 mm wide at chaetiger 10 (including parapodia). Prostomium cleft anteriorly and wider than long. Palps stout, palpostyle slender, papilliform, antennae shorter than palps. Longest tentacular cirri reaching back to chaetiger 8. Pharynx everted with small, transparent, conical paragnaths on maxillary ring, arranged as follows: Area I = 0, II =2–3, in small cluster, III = 0, IV= 2–3 in small group; oral ring papillae arranged as follows: V, VI, VII–VIII = band of numerous dome- or conical-shaped, soft papillae arranged in several rows. Notopodial dorsal ligule triangular with some glands, longer than prechaetal notopodial lobe and ventral ligule. Prechaetal (median) notopodial lobe shorter than ventral ligule. Posterior dorsal cirrus smaller than dorsal ligule. Anterior neuropodia with two ligules, more or less of the same length and postchaetal (median) lobe slightly smaller than ligules; posterior neuropodia with ventral ligule slightly shorter than acicular ligule. Ventral cirrus shorter than ventral ligule. Notochaetae all homogomph spinigers in anterior and posterior chaetigers. Neurochaetae homogomph spinigers and homogomph falcigers with spinous blade and truncate tip. Posterior neuropodia and neurochaetae similar to anterior ones, but fewer homogomph spinigers and accompanying homogomph falcigers present to end of body.

Remarks. Three Leonnates species have been reported from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Leonnates indicus Kinberg, L. decipiens Fauvel, and L. persicus Wesenberg-Lund. The present specimen closely resembles the original description of L. persicus by Wesenberg-Lund from the Persian Gulf. This is the first record of this species from the Gulf of Oman .

Distribution. Persian Gulf (North-west of Qais) (Wesenberg-Lund 1949), Gulf of Oman (Khalasi Mangrove); China Wu et al. (1985); South Africa (Day 1967); Suez Canal (Wehe & Fiege 2 002).