NIWA Guide to Polychaeta | Shore polychaetes | Shell polychaetes
 
Shell worm Boccardia lamellata Spionidae (spionid)
Spionida (Annelida: Polychaeta)
 
Boccardia  lamellata  (Rainer, 1973).   Family Spionidae  
     Boccardia lamellata figure
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 Identification tips:    Hooded hooks from chaetiger 8, and with companion capillaries. Distinctive colour pattern(s) present; dark pigment lateral to caruncle, and white pigment on posterior dorsal.
 Habitat: Intertidal marine, or inshore marine embayment. Known from mollusc shell. In bivalves. In shell blisters, debri packed, or in rock crevices. Recorded from living shells of New Zealand commercial shellfish: Atrina pectinata, Ostrea chilensis, Perna canaliculus. Occurrences in empty/dead shell also never reported. Tube lining present as packing within mud blister. Tube chimney present as glued debri/sand-grains.
 Nomenclature: Genus Boccardia in Family Spionidae. Boccardia lamellata. Described by Rainer, published in 1973, as Paraboccardia lamellata. Type locality: New Zealand, Otago Harbour. Other synonyms: none recorded
 Description:  Head region: Prostomium tip pronounced notch. Occipital antenna present (usually only as low papilla). Caruncle extends to anterior chaetiger 3; separate mid-dorsal organ absent. Colouration: Eyes present, two pairs. Dorsal pigmentation pattern present; dark anterior dorsal pigmentation present (lateral to caruncle and lateral on chaetigers 1-2). Dark anterior pigmentation on head, or on some anterior chaetigers. White (or yellow white) anterior dorsal pigmentation absent. Palp banding absent. White mid-body or posterior dorsal pigmentation present (very prominent). Other colouration includes reflective white on pygidium. Branchiae, chaetae, and pygidium: Branchiae adjoining parapodia 2-4, then 6 and following (well developed on 2); longest branchiae on chaetiger 8; near body end branchiae absent. Anterior gut gizzard-like structure absent. Hooded hooks begin chaetiger 8; bifid, hook shaft constriction (manubrium) absent, anterior hooded hook main fang more or less oriented apically with narrow angle with apical tooth. Alternating capillaries adjacent hooded hooks unstated; neurochaetal inferior chaetae below hooded hooks present. Chaetiger one notochaetae present; notopodial lobe present. Chaetae of chaetiger 5 'upper' (or 'posterior') row falcate without ornamentation, 'lower' (or 'anterior') row are knob-tipped and bristle-topped with subterminal spur. Superior notochaetae of chaetiger 5 present. Inferior neurochaetae of chaetiger 5 present. Posterior notochaetal spines absent. Pygidium flattened disc/saucer-rim with dorsal notch/gap. Pygidium large, distinctly wider than last chaetigers.
 Dimensions: Length 75 mm. Width 1.1 mm. Segment total 210. Palps extend to about chaetiger 25. A large species.
 Reproduction: Reproductive period and larval development type unknown.
 Distribution:  Occurs only in New Zealand. Not known to be invasive or anthropochoric. Global distribution includes New Zealand mainland..
 Remarks:  Little is known about this species.
 Biology: Boccardia lamellata is a blister-inducing species, at least in Atrina zelandica, and can be very large for a polydorid, but is relatively uncommon. Feeding group: Surface deposit/filter-feeding.
 Best References:   Biology: Read (1975) Systematics and biology of polydorid species (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from Wellington Harbour.. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 5:395-419 Taxonomy: Rainer (1973) Polydora and related genera (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from Otago waters. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 3:545-564.

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 information: 
  Synonyms,  NZ records Original figures Original description details
 Genus diagnosis More pictures Further references (biology, etc) Family Spionidae

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The information provided by this page and by the pages of the "more information" links is held in a structured form for rapid and frequent updating and improvement. Descriptive text is compiled from a number of database fields, some of which may occasionally be empty.
Data last edited 19/07/2004  (dd/mm/yy), and page last generated by G. Read, 25/07/2004  (dd/mm/yy)