WoRMS name details
Spirobranchus semperi Mörch, 1863
338153 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:338153)
unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Species
- Subspecies Spirobranchus semperi aceros Pixell, 1913 accepted as Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (subjective synonym)
- Subspecies Spirobranchus semperi acroceros Willey, 1905 accepted as Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (subjective synonym)
- Subspecies Spirobranchus semperi papillosus Wesenberg-Lund, 1949 accepted as Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (subjective synonym)
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
recent only
Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L. (1863). Revisio critica Serpulidarum. Et Bidrag til Rørormenes Naturhistorie. <em>Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift København.</em> Ser. 3, 1: 347-470, pl. 11 [also issued as a separate, 1–124, pl. 11]., available online at http://www.archive.org/details/naturhistoriskti01copeuoft
page(s): 405, plate 11, figures 24-25; note: The existence of figures isn't indicated in the text for this name, but plate 11 has good operculum figures. [details]
page(s): 405, plate 11, figures 24-25; note: The existence of figures isn't indicated in the text for this name, but plate 11 has good operculum figures. [details]
Type locality contained in Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone
, Note Philippines Islands, unspecified further
type locality contained in Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
From editor or global species database
Type locality Philippines Islands, unspecified further [details]
Status Synonymized by e.g. ten Hove (1970) with Spirobranchus tetraceros, the taxon has been reinstated by Pillai (2009: 178-182)...
Status Synonymized by e.g. ten Hove (1970) with Spirobranchus tetraceros, the taxon has been reinstated by Pillai (2009: 178-182) based on Pillai's own collection material from Sri Lanka (which had been examined & placed as S. tetraceros by ten Hove). However, Mörch's original material came from the Philippines. Earlier Augener (1914:148) had included Pomatoceros tetraceros Schmarda, 1861 under Spirobranchus semperi Mörch, 1863, but clearly the priority lies with Schmarda's name by two years. [details]
Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2025). World Polychaeta Database. Spirobranchus semperi Mörch, 1863. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=338153 on 2025-07-12
Date
action
by
The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 License
Nomenclature
original description
Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L. (1863). Revisio critica Serpulidarum. Et Bidrag til Rørormenes Naturhistorie. <em>Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift København.</em> Ser. 3, 1: 347-470, pl. 11 [also issued as a separate, 1–124, pl. 11]., available online at http://www.archive.org/details/naturhistoriskti01copeuoft
page(s): 405, plate 11, figures 24-25; note: The existence of figures isn't indicated in the text for this name, but plate 11 has good operculum figures. [details]
page(s): 405, plate 11, figures 24-25; note: The existence of figures isn't indicated in the text for this name, but plate 11 has good operculum figures. [details]
Taxonomy
source of synonymy
ten Hove, Harry A. (1970). Serpulinae (Polychaeta) from the Caribbean: I - The genus <i>Spirobranchus</i>. <em>Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands.</em> 32: 1-57, plates I-V., available online at https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/506140
page(s): 3; note: Included under Spirobranchus tetraceros [details] Available for editors
[request]
status source Augener, H. (1914). Polychaeta II: Sedentaria. pp. 1-72. In: Michaelsen, W. and Hartmeyer, R. (Eds.). Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Ergebnisse der Hamburger südwest-australischen Forschungsreise 1905. Volume 5. Gustav Fischer. Jena.
page(s): 149; note: Discusses and includes Pomatoceros tetraceros under Spirobranchus semperi, but the former is senior to the latter, so this is not possible [details]
status source Pillai, T. G. (2009). Descriptions of new serpulid polychaetes from the Kimberleys of Australia and discussion of Australian and Indo-West Pacific species of Spirobranchus and superficially similar taxa. <em>Records of the Australian Museum.</em> 61(2): 93-199., available online at http://australianmuseum.net.au/journal/Pillai-2009-Rec-Aust-Mus-612-93199/
page(s): 178, figures 57A–H; note: treated as valid, based on Sri Lanka specimens. Pillai reports the same specimens had been placed as S. tetraceros by ten Hove. [details] Available for editors
[request]
page(s): 3; note: Included under Spirobranchus tetraceros [details] Available for editors

status source Augener, H. (1914). Polychaeta II: Sedentaria. pp. 1-72. In: Michaelsen, W. and Hartmeyer, R. (Eds.). Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Ergebnisse der Hamburger südwest-australischen Forschungsreise 1905. Volume 5. Gustav Fischer. Jena.
page(s): 149; note: Discusses and includes Pomatoceros tetraceros under Spirobranchus semperi, but the former is senior to the latter, so this is not possible [details]
status source Pillai, T. G. (2009). Descriptions of new serpulid polychaetes from the Kimberleys of Australia and discussion of Australian and Indo-West Pacific species of Spirobranchus and superficially similar taxa. <em>Records of the Australian Museum.</em> 61(2): 93-199., available online at http://australianmuseum.net.au/journal/Pillai-2009-Rec-Aust-Mus-612-93199/
page(s): 178, figures 57A–H; note: treated as valid, based on Sri Lanka specimens. Pillai reports the same specimens had been placed as S. tetraceros by ten Hove. [details] Available for editors

Other
additional source
Willey, Arthur. (1905). Report on the Polychaeta collected by Professor Herdman, at Ceylon, in 1902. <em>Report to the Government of Ceylon on the Pearl Oyster Fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar by W.A. Herdman, with supplementary reports upon the Marine Biology of Ceylon, by Other Naturalists. Part IV. Supplementary Reports.</em> 30: 243-324, plates I-VIII., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1936112
page(s): 318 [details]
additional source Mohammad, Murad-B. M. (1971). Intertidal polychaetes from Kuwait, Arabian Gulf, with descriptions of three new species. <em>Journal of Zoology, London.</em> 163(3): 285-303., available online at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1971.tb04536.x [details] Available for editors
[request]
additional source Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. <em>China Science Press.</em> 1267 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] Available for editors
[request]
page(s): 318 [details]
additional source Mohammad, Murad-B. M. (1971). Intertidal polychaetes from Kuwait, Arabian Gulf, with descriptions of three new species. <em>Journal of Zoology, London.</em> 163(3): 285-303., available online at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1971.tb04536.x [details] Available for editors

additional source Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. <em>China Science Press.</em> 1267 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] Available for editors






From editor or global species database
Status Synonymized by e.g. ten Hove (1970) with Spirobranchus tetraceros, the taxon has been reinstated by Pillai (2009: 178-182) based on Pillai's own collection material from Sri Lanka (which had been examined & placed as S. tetraceros by ten Hove). However, Mörch's original material came from the Philippines. Earlier Augener (1914:148) had included Pomatoceros tetraceros Schmarda, 1861 under Spirobranchus semperi Mörch, 1863, but clearly the priority lies with Schmarda's name by two years. [details]Type locality Philippines Islands, unspecified further [details]