Description

“Travisia antarctica, new species

 

 

Records: 8:2 sta. 723 (2); 8:3 sta. 724 (1, TYPE); 15:5 sta. 600 (1).

 

 

Description: Length is 35 mm, width 11 mm, and segments number 28, of which the last 3 are asetigerous rings; this is followed by an anal cylinder. The surface epithelium is granular, most conspicuous in the anterior third of the body. The first setiger is preoral, biramous, and its setal fascicles are well separated from each other and slightly larger than those on the second segment. Branchiae are first present, but small, from the second setiger; they number 20 to 21 pairs and are largest in an­terior segments. Branchial segments are followed by three abranchiate setigerous segments, and these by four others without setae. The anal cylinder is slenderer than the body and surrounded by a circlet of short papillae.

 

Each segment is crossed by circlets of papillae, resembling closely strung beads. The first 16 or 17 segments are triannulate; their para­podia are on the third ring, which also has the largest papillae. The next six segments are biannulate, and the last five are uniannulate. Setae are entirely long, slender and capillary.

 

T. antarctica is unique for having 28 segments, of which 20 or 21 are branchial; the last 4 segments lack parapodia.

 

T. nigrocincta Ehlers, 1913 (see Hartman, 1966, p. 54) from Wil­helm II coast in abyssal depths, lacks branchiae and may belong to Kesun (see above).

 

 

Distribution: South Georgia, in 2663-2727 in; South Sandwich Is­lands, in 2452-2531 m.”

 

(Hartman, 1967)