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Polyodontes maxillosus (Ranzani 1817)

Comprehensive Description

provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Polyodontes maxillosus (Ranzani, 1817)

Phyllodoce maxillosa Ranzani, 1817:1456, pl. 11: figs. 2–9.—Blainville, 1828:461, pl. 12.

Eumolpe maxima Oken, 1817:1452.

Polyodontes maxillosus.—Audouin and Milne-Edwards, 1832:432.—Claparède, 1868:392, pl. 3: fig. 2.—Eisig 1887:324, pl. 36: figs. 4–25.—Saint-Loup, 1889:412.—Fauvel, 1914b:74 [synonymy]; 1923:97, fig. 37a–n.—Rioja, 1918:22, fig. 5a–f.—Fishelson and Rullier, 1969:55.—Campoy, 1982:85. [Not sensu Gibbs, 1971:127 (= Polyodontes atromarginatus. ?Not sensu Strelzov, 1972:292.]

Polyodontes maxillosa.—Delle Chiaje, 1841:57, 61, pl. 99: figs. 1–5. Panthalis lacazii Pruvot and Racovitza, 1895:428, pl. 19: figs. 84–104.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—ITALY. Bay of Naples, from Zoological Station, 1 specimen (USNM 5114).

MEASUREMENTS.—Type material was not available. Pruvot and Razovitza (1895) based their description of Panthalis lacazii from France on an anterior fragment of 76 segments, 155 mm long, and 22 mm wide with setae. Polyodontes maxillosus is considered to be one of the largest polychaetes. The specimen from the Bay of Naples (USNM 5114) is incomplete posteriorly, with 220 segments, 210 mm long, and 26 mm wide with setae. Fauvel (1923:97) gives the length of about a meter, 20–25 mm wide, with several hundred segments. For a freshly caught specimen, Saint-Loup (1889:413) gave the length of 2 meters and a width of 20 mm.

DESCRIPTION.—Body long, vermiform. Dorsum transversely banded with reddish brown or brownish violet pigmentation. Anterior 6 pairs of elytra large, rounded, covering dorsum, following elytra elongate, oval to subtriangular, leaving middorsum uncovered; anterior elytra splotched with brownish pigmentation, showing venation; posterior elytra with dark anterior, median and posterior borders and showing closely packed areolations, with shallow lateral pouch (Figure 70E–H).

Prostomium bilobed, with large black oval ommatophores occupying anterior border, with white domes on tips; median antenna with rounded ceratophore attached on medial sides of ommatophores, papillate on external and ventral sides, and extending posteriorly as raised ridge, with short style extending slightly beyond ommatophores; pair of small sessile eyespots lateral to medial ridge; lateral antennae inserted ventrally on bases of ommatophores with tips of styles visible dorsally; ventral palps long, tapered, smooth (Figure 70A,B). Tentacular segment distinct dorsally; tentaculophores lateral to prostomium, with papillae on dorsal and inner sides, each with 2 acicula, small projecting acicular lobe, 2 bundles of capillary setae on inner side, and pair of dorsal and ventral tentacular cirri, similar to but longer than lateral antennae (Figures 70A,B, 71A).

Second segment with first pair of elytrophores, ventral buccal cirri much longer than following ventral cirri and biramous parapodia; notopodium wide, conical, on anterodorsal side of larger neuropodium, with bundle of long, finely spinous capillary notosetae; neuropodium with rounded presetal acicular and postsetal lobes and projecting ventral bract, with row of stout spinous neurosetae tapering to slender tips and lower group of more slender neurosetae (Figures 70A, 71B–D; Pruvot and Racovitza, 1895, pl. 19: figs. 95–97). Row of papillae on anterior border of upper lip (Figure 70B). Extended pharynx with 19 pairs of border papillae, middorsal and midventral ones much longer than others, on large lobulated bases; 2 pairs of hooked jaws each with 10 lateral teeth (Figure 70C,D; Pruvot and Racovitza, 1895, pl. 19: figs. 84, 93, 94; Rioja, 1918, fig. 5a,b).

Third segment with first pair of dorsal cirri with short cirrophores and tapering styles extending slightly beyond setae; ventral cirri short, subulate; parapodia and setae similar to those of segment 2 (Figure 71E,F; Pruvot and Racovitza, 1895, pl. 19: figs. 90, 98). Parapodia of segments 4–8 with stout neurosetae changing gradually, becoming smooth basally and spinous near tips, forming transitional aristae; notopodia becoming smaller and neuropodia larger (Figure 71G).

Beginning with segment 9, notopodium wide, rounded, flat, on anterodorsal half of larger neuropodium, with notoaciculum, spinning glands and small bundle of short capillary notosetae emerging from lower side of notopodium; neuropodium with presetal acicular and postsetal lobes and more or less distinct anteroventral bract; lower neurosetae numerous, within anteroventral bract, slender, slightly curved, enlarged basally with larger spinous rows, tapering to fine tips with close-set spinous rows; middle row of stout, smooth acicular neurosetae with spinous aristae; upper group of neurosetae, emerging from low dorsoanterior bract, hidden by notopodium, of 2 types: (a) long, stout, wide basally, tapering to thickly spinous slender tips; (b) short, slender, with widely spaced bipinnate spines, tapering to fine tips (Figure 71H–K).

Middle parapodia becoming larger, with more numerous neurosetae of same types (Figure 72A–E; Pruvot and Racovitza, 1895, pl. 19: figs. 92, 102–104). Spinning fibers extremely elongated, forming coils and occupying large part of coelom (Eisig, 1887, pl. 36: figs. 4–6, 8). Dorsal cirri with inflated cirrophores and short, wide styles extending to tips of neuropodia (Figure 72B). Bulbous branchiae near bases of elytrophores and dorsal cirrophores, beginning about segment 10 and continuing to about segment 30 (Figure 72A; Pruvot and Racovitza, 1895, pl. 19: fig. 91). From about segment 100, notopodia smaller, subconical, dorsal to neuropodia, with dorsoanterior bract enclosing upper group of neurosetae clearly visible; no distinct branchiae but parapodia markedly thin-walled (Figure 72F).

DISTRIBUTION.—North Atlantic off Spain, Mediterranean, Adriatic, Red Sea. Low water to 280 meters.
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bibliographic citation
Pettibone, Marian H. 1989. "Revision of the aphroditoid polychaetes of the family Acoetidae Kinberg (=Polyodontidae Augener) and reestablishment of Acoetes Audouin and Milne-Edwards, 1832, and Euarche Ehlers, 1887." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-138. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.464

Polyodontes maxillosus

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Polyodontes maxillosus is a species of polychaete worm in the family Acoetidae.

References

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Polyodontes maxillosus: Brief Summary

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Polyodontes maxillosus is a species of polychaete worm in the family Acoetidae.

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Distribution

provided by World Register of Marine Species
Distribution: Australia (?), Indian Ocean, Red Sea (?), Mediteranean, Atlantic Ocean (Fauvel,1953).

Reference

Vine, P. (1986). Red Sea Invertebrates. Immel Publishing, London. 224 pp.

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