On some frenulate species (Annelida : Polychaeta : Siboglinidae) from mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic)

Abstract

Collections of Frenulata made by the RV Professor Logachev in the Gulf of Cadiz in 2006 contain two new species, one belonging to the genus Spirobrachia, and another that was assigned to a new genus. Spirobrachia tripeira n. sp. is the first record of the genus in the North Atlantic Ocean; it has a very stiff, straight, orange tube; its tentacles have pinnules and are arranged in a spiral crown without a lophophore. Bobmarleya gadensis n. gen. et n. sp. is characterised by an unusually long tentacular crown composed of about 40 free tentacles. It shares many characteristics with the genus Oligobrachia but the large number and extreme length of the tentacles and a combination of other characters justify the designation of a new genus. The specimens of Lamellisabella denticulata Southward, 1978 collected during the M.S. Merian 03/01 cruise provide the first record of this species in the Gulf of Cadiz.