Bonavia, Corey. (2022). [unpublished thesis] Morphological and molecular analyses of the polychaete Scolelepis agilis (Verrill, 1873)1 (Annelida: Spionidae) from the Atlantic coast of North America previously misidentified as the European species Scolelepis squamata (O.F. Müller, 1806). M.Sc. thesis, Hofstra University.

474868

Bonavia, Corey

2022

Publication

https://www.proquest.com/openview/b8627ae5397d743a7d71d3ca87e29922/1

World Polychaeta Database (WPolyDb)

The identity of marine polychaete worms in the genus Scolelepis from the Atlantic coast of North America and their distinction from the European species Scolelepis squamata (O.F. Müller 1806) has long been a topic of debate. The objective of this study was to investigate specimens of Scolelepis collected from the Atlantic coastlines of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Virginia through morphological and molecular analyses to determine whether they constitute a single species distinct from Scolelepis squamata. Specimens of Scolelepis collected from intertidal areas of Lido Beach, New York were examined in detail through light and scanning electron microscopy. Data on the reproduction of the species from New York is provided (e.g., egg and sperm morphology, relationship between total number of chaetigers and number of chaetigers with gametes, percentage of ovigerous individuals present and season collected, and average number of ovigerous segments and season collected. Key morphological features recorded from New York specimens (e.g., bidentate notopodial hooded hooks beginning on chaetiger 72–82, and bi and tridentate neuropodial hooded hooks beginning on chaetiger 27–34) indicate the specimens match Scolelepis agilis (Verrill 1873) originally described from New Jersey. The specimens can be distinguished from Scolelepis squamata based on differences in ciliary patterns, shape and division of neuropodial lamella, and the quantity and start of both notopodial and neuropodial hooded hooks. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences based on nuclear (18S and 28S rRNA) and mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase I and 16S rRNA) genes showed that specimens of S. agilis from the Atlantic coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Virginia form a monophyletic group that are genetically similar (p-distance £ 4.06 %), and clearly distinct from the European Scolelepis squamata (p-distance = 78.29 %). The molecular data also indicates the presence of several putative undescribed species (under the names S. squamata and Scolelepis sp.) from the west coast of Canada, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico, highlighting the need for additional taxonomic work on the genus.

North-western Atlantic

Molecular systematics, Molecular biology

Annelida
Polychaeta

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