Leucia violacea

Last updated

Leucia violacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Annelida
Class:
Polychaeta
Order:
Phyllodocida
Family:
Polynoidae
Genus:
Leucia
Species:
L. violacea
Binomial name
Leucia violacea
(Storm, 1879) [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Evarne normani McIntosh, 1879
  • Harmothoe violacea (Storm, 1879)
  • Laenilla violacea Storm, 1879

Leucia violacea is a species of polychaete worm, commonly known as a "scale worm", in the family Polynoidae. This species occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

Contents

Description

The body has 42 segments which are concealed by sixteen pairs of elytra in two rows. The length of this worm is about 42 mm (1.7 in) and the width 9 mm (0.4 in). The prostomium has two lobes with a pair of acute anterior projections, a median antenna and a pair of lateral antennae inserted ventrally (beneath prostomium and median antenna), a pair of smooth palps and two pairs of eyes. The body is red to brown above and white beneath, and the scales are pink to violet. [2] It can be distinguished from Leucia nivea , the only other member of the genus, by the microtubercles on the scales being all conical while the macrotubercles are scattered and indistinct. Notochaetae distinctly thicker than neurochaetae. Unidentate and bidentate neurochaetae are present. [2]

Taxonomy

This species was first described by the Norwegian zoologist Vilhelm Storm in 1879 as Laenilla violacea but was later transferred to the genus Harmothoe . During a revision of this genus in 2009, H. violacea was reassigned to Leucia violacea on the basis that members of Harmothoe have fifteen pairs of scales while members of Leucia have sixteen. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, its range extending from Norway to the Bay of Biscay at depths between 30 and 1,262 m (100 and 4,100 ft). It is found on hard substrates, often associated with cold water corals such as Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata . [2]

Related Research Articles

Parapodium

In invertebrates, the term parapodium refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, un-jointed lateral outgrowths that bear the chaetae. In several groups of sea snails and sea slugs, 'parapodium' refers to lateral fleshy protrusions.

Polynoidae Family of annelids

Polynoidae is a family of marine Polychaete worms known as "scale worms" due to the scale-like elytra on the dorsal surface. Almost 900 species are currently recognised belonging to 9 subfamilies and 167 genera. They are active hunters, but generally dwell in protected environments such as under stones. The group is widely distributed from shallow intertidal waters to hadal trenches. They are the most diverse group of polychaetes in terms of genus number and second most diverse in terms of species number which is almost 8% of all segmented worm species.

Adyte assimilis is a marine polychaete scale worm in the family Polynoidae.

<i>Eudistylia</i> genus of annelids

Eudistylia is a genus of marine polychaete worms. The type species is Eudistylia gigantea, now accepted as Eudistylia vancouveri. This worm lives in a parchment-like tube with a single opening from which a crown of tentacles projects when the worm is submerged. It is a sessile filter feeder.

Adyte is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus includes a single species found in the North-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, at depths down to about 150 metres.

<i>Phyllodoce maculata</i> species of annelid

Phyllodoce maculata is a species of Polychaete worm in the family Phyllodocidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it inhabits shallow water areas of sand, mud and stones.


Arctonoe is a genus belonging to the family Polynoidae, worms commonly known as "scale worms". Members of this genus predominantly occur in shallow waters of the North-east Pacific Ocean and often live as commensals of other marine invertebrates, frequently echinoderms but sometimes molluscs or other polychaetes.

<i>Eulagisca gigantea</i> species of annelid

Eulagisca gigantea, a giant polynoid worm also known as an Antarctic scale worm, is a species of marine polychaete worm belonging to the family Polynoidae, the scale worms. This species is found on the seabed in the Southern Ocean.

<i>Lepidonotus squamatus</i> species of annelid

Lepidonotus squamatus is a species of polychaete worm, commonly known as a "scale worm", in the family Polynoidae. This species occurs in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as Aphrodita squamata but was later transferred to the genus Lepidonotus.

<i>Leucia</i> Genus of annelids


Leucia is a genus of marine polychaete worms belonging to the family Polynoidae, the scaleworms. Leucia contains 2 species, both found in the northern Atlantic Ocean. This genus is distinguished from the closely related genus Harmothoe by having sixteen pairs of elytra, as opposed to fifteen.

<i>Leucia nivea</i> species of annelid

Leucia nivea is a species of polychaete worm, commonly known as a "scale worm", in the family Polynoidae. This species occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Eunoe is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus includes 48 species which are found world-wide, mostly from depths of 50 m or more.

<i>Eunoe leiotentaculata</i> species of annelid

Eunoe leiotentaculata is a scale worm known from southern Australia and New Zealand and the South Pacific Ocean at depths of 500-1200 m.

<i>Phyllodoce lineata</i> species of annelid

Phyllodoce lineata is a species of polychaete worm in the family Phyllodocidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it occurs in the intertidal and shallow sub-tidal zones on soft sediment.


Acholoe is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus was described in 1870 and includes a single long-bodied species with 100 or more segments and which occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and North-east Atlantic Ocean.

Acanthicolepis is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus was described in 1990 and includes two short-bodied species with up to 50 segments and which occur in the Mediterranean Sea and North-east Atlantic Ocean.

Augenerilepidonotus is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus includes a single species which is known from Australia, usually from depths of about 40 metres or less..

<i>Lepidonotus</i> Genus of annelids


Lepidonotus is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus occurs globally and includes 80 species, usually found in shallow waters down to about 80 metres.

Adyte hyalina is a species of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae ; it is the single recognised species in the genus Adyte and occurs in the North-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, at depths down to nearly 300 metres

Australaugeneria is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus includes 4 species which are commensal on octocorals.

References

  1. 1 2 Fauchald, Kristian (2008). "Leucia violacea (Storm, 1879)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Fiege, Dieter; Barnich, Ruth. (2009). Polynoidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) associated with cold-water coral reefs of the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Zoosymposia. 2 : 149–164
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.