Zoological Studies

Vol. 57, 2018

(update: 2018.09.10; 10.25) 

A New Species in the Marphysa sanguinea Complex (Annelida, Eunicidae) from Hong Kong

Zhi Wang1, Yanjie Zhang1, and Jian-Wen Qiu1,*

doi:10.6620/ZS.2018.57-48

1Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; HKBU Institute of Research and Continuing Education, Shenzhen, China

(Received 18 July 2018; Accepted 4 September 2018; Communicated Benny K.K. Chan)

Zhi Wang, Yanjie Zhang, and Jian-Wen Qiu (2018) Marphysa hongkongensa n. sp. (Annelida: Eunicidae) is described based on samples from the intertidal zone of Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong. This new species belongs to the Marphysa sanguinea species complex. It is characterized by a subacicular hook from chaetiger 26-58 to the posterior end, branchiae with up to 5-10 filaments from chaetiger 14-35 to the posterior end, and four types of pectinate chaetae. Molecular analyses indicated that the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I gene and 16S RNA gene of Marphysa hongkongensa diverged from the corresponding sequence of the closest related species of Marphysa in GenBank by 19.5% and 12.1%, respectively. An identification key is provided for species in the Marphysa sanguinea complex along the Chinese coast.

Key words: Bait worm, Pectinate chaetae, Phylogeny, Polychaete, Tolo Harbour.

*Correspondence: Tel: +852-34117055. E-mail: qiujw@hkbu.edu.hk

Supplementary Material: Fig. S1