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Dorvilleidae (Annelida:Polychaeta) from the U.S. Atlantic slope and rise. Description of two new genera and 14 new species, with a generic revision of Ophryotrocha
Author(s) -
HILBIG BRIGITTE,
BLAKE JAMES A.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
zoologica scripta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1463-6409
pISSN - 0300-3256
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-6409.1991.tb00281.x
Subject(s) - biology , genus , context (archaeology) , benthic zone , zoology , ecology , paleontology
The present paper contains descriptions of 14 new species of dorvilleid polychaetes that are part of a highly diverse benthic infauna sampled on the U.S. Atlantic slope and rise between the Canadian border and South Carolina. Quantitative samples were taken with a Hessler‐Sandia box core during 18 cruises between 1983 and 1987. Samples were sieved through screens having a mesh opening of 300 μ. The newly described species belong to the genera Ophryorrocha. Exallopus. Parophryotrocha and two new genera, Pseudophryotrocha gen.n. and Anchidorvillea gen.n. An emended generic diagnosis of Ophryotrocha is provided to accommodate some of the new species, but also to include a group of atypical species described earlier by several authors who had modified the generic concept of Ophryotrocha without providing a formal emendation. The genus Ophryotrocha is revised to contain 31 species helonging to two species groups. A comparison of a suite of morphologic characters, however. indicates that these species addressed in this paper are discussed in the context of the entire family Dorvilleidae.