Composition of meiobenthonic Platyhelminthes from brackish environments of the Galician and Cantabrian coasts of Spain with the description of a new species of Djeziraia (Polycystididae, Kalyptorhynchia)

Abstract

From 1997 to 1999, the fauna of free‐living Platyhelminthes of the rias ecosystem was studied along the Galician and Cantabrian coast in northern Spain. In total, 72 platyhelminth species are listed in this study. Forty‐two species represent new records for the Iberian Peninsula, three of which represent new genera records. A new species belonging to the genus Djeziraia (Polycystididae, Kalyptorhynchia), Djeziraia longistyla sp. nov., is described in this paper. In this broad‐scale study, a large data set (27 localities) of the estuaries of northern Spain allowed an analysis of the turbellarian species assemblages and the relation of species distributions to salinity, conductivity, oxygen, temperature, and sediment characteristics. Species assemblages (species diversity) of each habitat of the brackish water ecotone are shown. The present study contributes to knowledge on the ability of adaptation of free‐living Platyhelminthes to regimes of brackish water ecotones.

Keywords:

• Northern Spain
• brackish habitats
• Platyhelminthes
• turbellaria
• new species
• funeral records
• Djeziraia

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Dietrich Blome for stimulating and critical comments, Dr Tom Artois for his invaluable help in the identification of the genus Djeziraia, and Sarah Young for proofreading the English text. Last but not least, the authors thank the anonymous referees for their helpful comments and observations. Financial support was given by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) and the project Fauna Ibérica (SEUI‐DGES PB95‐0235).