Resurrection of the genus Nectoneanthes Imajima, 1972 (Nereididae: Polychaeta), with redescription of Nectoneanthes oxypoda (Marenzeller, 1879) and description of a new species, comparing them to Neanthes succinea (Leuckart, 1847)

Abstract

Nectoneanthes Imajima, 1972, which has been regarded as a synonym of Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 and later of Alitta Kinberg, 1865, is resurrected in the present study, with evidence showing that the type species of Nectoneanthes (N. oxypoda Marenzeller, 1879) is not a synonym of Neanthes succinea (Leuckart, 1847), but a valid species. Nectoneanthes oxypoda and Neanthes succinea are redescribed with newly found characteristics. The following seven species are judged as junior synonyms of Nectoneanthes oxypoda: Nectoneanthes latipoda Paik, 1973; Nectoneanthes multignatha Wu, Sun and Yang, 1981; Nectoneanthes donghaiensis He, 1987; Nereis ijimai Izuka, 1912; Nereis alatopalpis Wesenberg-Lund, 1949; Nereis singularis Wesenberg-Lund, 1949, and Nereis (Nereis) legeri Gravier and Dantan, 1934. Nectoneanthes is composed of two species: Nectoneanthes oxypoda and Nectoneanthes uchiwa sp. nov. which is described here. The combination Neanthes succinea is also resurrected, reversing the placement in Alitta. Neanthes succinea seems to have been introduced recently to Asia and Australia. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:45D3C54C-AB3B-463E-A744-8A52ACE084DC

Keywords:

• epitokous metamorphosis
• human-mediated introduction
• new species
• new synonym
• redescription

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Helmut Sattmann (NHMW), Dieter Fiege (SMF), Angelika Brandt (ZMH), Danny Eibye-Jacobsen (ZMUC), Ralf Bastrop (Universität Rostock), Stephen Keable (AM), Jin-Woo Choi (KIOST), Minoru Imajima (NHMT), Ryohei Yamanishi (OMNH), Isao Hayashi (Kyoto University), and Eijiro Nishi (Yokohama National University) for help in the examination of museum or institute-preserved specimens, and to Jin-Woo Choi for providing Korean species names. I thank Susumu Ohtsuka and staff of the vessel Toyoshio-maru (Hiroshima University), and many other colleagues (their names shown as collectors in text) for help in collecting materials. Some materials derived from a collection made by the 7th National Survey on the Natural Environment (organized by the Biodiversity Centre, Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment). Special thanks are expressed to three anonymous referees for their many helpful comments. The present study was partially supported by the Researcher Exchange Programme between JSPS and DAAD.