SABELLIDAE (ANNELIDA - POLYCHAETA) ASSOCIATED WITH THE STONY CORAL MUSSISMILIA HISPIDA (VERRILL, 1808) ON ISLANDS OF SÃO PAULO'S STATE COAST, BRAZIL
Nogueira, J. M. de M. 1,2 & Amaral, A. Cecília Z. 3
1 Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, n° 321, 05508-900, São Paulo,SP, Brazil
2 Bolsista CNPq - nível doutorado.
3Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP: 6109, 13089-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
The polychaetous annelids are very common organisms found on all sorts of biogenic substrate, including algae, sponges, bryozoans, corals, and other polychaete tubes. Polychaetes present in calcareous substrates, such as coral, may be boring species using chemical and/or mechanical ways to bore, while others are nestlers, occupying previously existing holes and cavities. In order to investigate the community of polychaetes associated with stony corals on São Paulo's state, colonies of Mussismilia hispida (Verrill, 1808) collected on Laje de Santos and Ilha dos Alcatrazes (SP) were decalcified in a solution of formalin and formic acid. The resulting residue was sorted under a dissecting microscope, and the polychaetes, identified. Among them, the family Sabellidae, was the most numerically important family and can bore by chemical means. Most of the genera and species, have been identified, and include Desdemona Banse, 1957 and Fabricia Blainville, 1828, subfamíly Fabricinae, Hypsicomus Grübe, 1870, Laonome Malmgren, 1866 and Potamilla Malmgren, 1866, subfamily Sabellinae, of which Laonome puncturata and Potamilla reniformis (Múller, 1771) have been identified. Four new species are present and these are characterised below: Desdemona n. sp. A: Tentacular crown without pigmentation, and the number of teeth on the abdominal uncini; Desdemona n. sp. B: Radioli displacement, pigmentation of the tentacular crown, lack of eyes on the collar; Fabricia n.sp. A: Thoracic segments all of similar size, number of teeth on the abdominal uncini; Hypsicomus n. sp. A: Collar setae arranged in a straight line, spatulate thoracic notosetae without any sharp projection, 8 thoracic segments. Finally, a new genus was recognized, present in large numbers, which resembles Sabellastarte Savigny 1818 and Branchiomma Kóliker 1858, but differing from them in having only 7 thoracic segments, the presence of round vesicles at the tips of the radioli, lacking stylodes and their small size.