Research Article |
Corresponding author: Sergio Salazar-Vallejo ( savs551216@hotmail.com ) Academic editor: Christopher Glasby
© 2016 Sergio Salazar-Vallejo.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Salazar-Vallejo SI (2016) Elisesione, a new name for Wesenbergia Hartman, 1955, and the description of a new species (Annelida, Hesionidae). ZooKeys 632: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.632.9652
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Wesenbergia Hartman, 1955 (Annelida, Hesionidae) is both preoccupied and a junior homonym of Wesenbergia Kryger, 1943 (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae), and must be renamed. Elisesione nom. n. is proposed as a replacement name, derived from the combination of the first name of the discoverer, Elise Wesenberg-Lund, and Hesione Savigny in Lamarck, 1818. Elisesione mezianei sp. n., is described from the Wallis and Futuna islands (southwest Pacific). A key to separate E. mezianei sp. n. from its congener E. problematica (Wesenberg-Lund, 1950) is included; further, the record of E. problematica for Japan should be regarded as a distinct species because it has palps shorter than antennae (subequal in the type species), and shorter neurochaetal blades (7–9 times longer than wide vs 8–12 times longer than wide in the type species).
Acicular lobe, Hesione , Iceland, polychaetes, simple palps, Wallis and Futuna
Hesionid polychaetes are usually colorful polychaetes which are striking because the number of body segments is inversely related to body size. For example, species of Hesione Savigny in Lamarck, 1818 only have 16 chaetigers during their benthic life, but, are one of the largest representatives in the family with a length of up to 70 mm long in preserved specimens (pers. obs.), although they have been reported to reach 120 mm (
The phylogenetic affinities among the Hesionidae were assessed by
According to
Wesenberg-Lund overlooked a previous publication by
Wesenbergia Hartman, 1955 has been recorded for Japan (
As part of an on-going revision of Hesione, materials from several different collections from European, American and Mexican museums or institutions have been examined by the author. In the collections of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, a remarkable specimen provided with antennae and simple palps was found, belonging to an undescribed species corresponding to Wesenbergia. In this contribution, the new species is described, and because Wesenbergia is a junior homonym, a new replacement name is proposed, together with a key to the known species of the genus.
The holotype was collected during the Musorstom Expedition 7: Wallis and Futuna Islands (
Hesionella Wesenberg-Lund, 1950: 14.
Wesenbergia
Hartman, 1955: 41;
Hesionella problematica Wesenberg-Lund, 1950, by monotypy.
The name is a combination of the first name of the late Elise Wesenberg-Lund, and Hesione, which is the type genus for the family, but in order to make it more euphonic, the first two letters of the genus-group name are suppressed; the new name emphasizes the similarities between these two genera. Gender feminine.
(emended).Hesionini with two antennae; palps simple, lateral to antennae. Eight pairs of tentacular cirri. Dorsal cirri with short or long cirrophores. Notochaetae absent. Aciculae colorless or blackish. Acicular lobes single or double. Neurochaetae with blades bidentate, guards approaching subdistal tooth, or absent. Prepygidial segment with dorsal cirri about 10 times longer than ventral cirri.
Wesenbergia Kryger, 1943 was proposed for a group of chalcid hymenopterans, but the name was overlooked by
Homonymies are not allowed in Zoological Nomenclature (
As indicated above, Wesenbergia Hartman, 1955 is a junior homonym and must be replaced, even though the senior homonym is regarded as a junior synonym (
Elisesione nom. n. is closely related to Hesione as shown by
The two known species in the genus have been found in different ecological conditions and geographical regions. The type species, E. problematica, was found in the North Atlantic, off Iceland, in sediments taken at 550 m depth, and the new species, E. mezianei sp. n., was collected in the Western South Pacific, in hard substrates in shallow water (35 m), in the Wallis and Futuna Islands. Another species, previously recorded as E. problematica from Japan (
1 | Acicular lobe single; parapodia with dorsal ceratophores about twice longer than wide; neurochaetal blades with guards | 2 |
– | Acicular lobe double; parapodia with dorsal ceratophores 4–5 times longer than wide; neurochaetal blades 1–3 times longer than wide, without guards (palps about 2/3 as long as antennae) | E. mezianei sp. n. |
2 | Neurochaetal blades 8–12 times longer than wide; palps as long as antennae | E. problematica (Wesenberg-Lund, 1950) |
– | Neurochaetal blades 7-9 times longer than wide; palps half as long as antennae | E. problematicasensu Imajima, 2003 |
Holotype (
This species is named to honor Dr. Tarik Meziane, Curator of Polychaeta in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, as an appreciation of his efforts and support to my research activities during many years. The epithet is a noun in apposition.
Holotype (
Body with parallel sides (Fig.
Prostomium slightly wider than long, anterior margin with a shallow depression, lateral margins rounded, wider medially, posterior margin with a shallow depression, as long as 1/6 prostomial length. Antennae digitate, longer than interocular distance. Palps simple, blunt, 2/3 as long as antennae, positioned at the same level, external to antennae. Eyes blackish, anterior ones half-moon shaped, three times as large as posterior rounded ones (Fig.
Elisesione mezianei sp. n. Holotype (
Enlarged cirri long, thick, longest one reaches chaetiger 5. Lateral cushions low, projected anteriorly, slightly projected laterally, undivided.
Parapodia with chaetal lobes cylindrical, truncate, longer than wide; dorsal cirri thick with cirrophores cylindrical, 4–5 times longer than wide (Fig.
Acicula black, tapered; acicular lobe double, each lobe blunt, of similar size, barely visible because of chaetal lobe contraction (Fig.
Posterior end tapered into a blunt cone (Fig.
Pharynx not exposed. Oocytes not seen.
As indicated in the key above, Elisesione mezianei sp. n. differs from both the Icelandic and the Japanese E. problematica in parapodial and chaetal features. In E. mezianei dorsal ceratophores are long (4–5× longer than wide), the acicular lobe is double, and neurochaetal blades are short (1–3 times longer than wide), whereas in E. problematica dorsal ceratophores are short (2× longer than wide), the acicular lobe is single, and neurochaetal blades are long (8–12× longer than wide). Based upon the observation of other similar hesionid specimens, it is clear that these morphological differences are not the result of preservation methods, or prolonged storage in ethanol.
On the contrary, pigmentation patterns can be modified by dissolution in ethanol, because of photo-oxidation, or both, and despite the striking contrast between the two species, they could not be employed as diagnostic features. The pigmentation of E. mezianei is long-lasting since it has been in ethanol for at least 16 years, when it was initially sorted-out as part of the Musorstom materials (
Elisesione mezianei sp. n. is the second species in a previous monotypic genus and it is apparently rare along its distribution in rocky, shallow water substrates (35 m) in the Southwestern Pacific. The distribution for the genus is rather interesting and difficult to explain. The type species, E. problematica (Wesenberg-Lund, 1950) thrives in very cold waters in Iceland, and was also recorded in Japan in sediments at 150-320 m depth (
Solving a problem of homonymy in zoological nomenclature is not a remarkable contribution per se, especially after 2004 when the Nomenclator Zoologicus was available online (
In any case, solving this homonymy problem is by no means a derogatory remark on the impressive publication output of either Elise Wesenberg-Lund or Olga Hartman. They were extremely productive, often published large monographs or revisions, and the former also dealt with a wide variety of invertebrate groups. It was a mistake, a small one, and being related to a formerly monotypic genus, with apparently a single record, this name replacement would not imply a large impact on polychaete taxonomy or benthic ecology, faunal listings or similar efforts.
This contribution was made possible by funding from El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, through the generous support of Tarik Meziane in Paris, and by the generous support of my direct bosses in Chetumal: Luis F. Carrera-Parra (Group Leader), and Laura Carrillo (Head of Department). The preliminary sorting out of the Musorstom materials was made possible because Fredrik Pleijel, then in the