Sphaerosyllis ovigera Langerhans, 1879

Faulwetter, Sarah, Simboura, Nomiki, Katsiaras, Nikolaos, Chatzigeorgiou, Giorgos & Arvanitidis, Christos, 2017, Polychaetes of Greece: an updated and annotated checklist, Biodiversity Data Journal 5, pp. 20997-20997 : 20997

Sphaerosyllis ovigera Langerhans, 1879

Notes

Questionable status. A poorly known species which is frequently reported in ecological lists, but no recent descriptions exist (the newest being Fauvel (1923), who reproduces description and illustrations by Langerhans (1879)). The species is not included in the treatise of the family by San Martín (2003). A character which allegedly distinguishes Sphaerosyllis ovigera from other species of the genus is the presence of a dorsal cirrus on the second chaetiger. However, other species were originally also described with this feature (e.g. Sphaerosyllis hystrix ) although it is in fact absent. Non-type material of Langerhans in the Natural History Museum of Vienna (Inv. No. 2549, Acq. No. 3296, locality Madeira, coll. year 1884) was examined by S. Faulwetter; the dorsal cirrus on chaetiger 2 is absent. The status of the species remains unclear and specimens should be revised.