''Ophryotrocha craigsmithi'' is a species of
polychaete worm.
[Wiklund, Helena, Adrian G. Glover, and Thomas G. Dahlgren. "Three new species of Ophryotrocha (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) from a whale-fall in the North-East Atlantic." Zootaxa 2228 (2009): 43-56.] ''O. craigsmithi'' is named after Craig R. Smith. This species is similar to ''
Palpiphitime lipovskyae'' and ''
O. Platykephale'', among others, in having
branchial structures dorsally and ventrally. It differs from ''O. platykephale'' in the shape of its
prostomium
The prostomium (From Ancient Greek, meaning "before the mouth"; plural: prostomia; sometimes also called the "acron") is the cephalized first body segment in an annelid worm's body at the anterior end. It is in front of (but does not include) th ...
and
parapodia
In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed ...
. ''Palpiphitime lipovskyae'' has jaws of both P- and K-type, while no specimens of ''O. craigsmithi'' have been found with K-type jaws thus far. ''Ophryotrocha craigsmithi'' differs from ''P. lipovskyae'' genetically, but also by the presence of a prominent ventral
chaeta
A chaeta or cheta (from Greek χαίτη “crest, mane, flowing hair"; plural: chaetae) is a chitinous bristle or seta found in annelid worms, (although the term is also frequently used to describe similar structures in other invertebrates suc ...
l lobe with a bulging simple chaeta in the former.
Description
It has a pale red or transparent colour, with red branchial structures on its dorsal and ventral sides. It has an elongated body, tapering at its posterior end. Its prostomium has
digitiform
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...
paired
antennae inserted dorsally. Its
palps are papilliform and with palpophores, inserted laterally on its prostomium. It possesses no eyes, its
mandible
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...
s being L-shaped, counting with anterior serration. Its
maxilla
The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...
e exhibits 7 free
denticles. It also counts with two
peristomial segments without
setae
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
. Its
parapodia
In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed ...
has dorsal ventral
cirri
Giovanni Battista Cirri (1 October 1724 – 11 June 1808) was an Italian cellist and composer in the 18th century.
Biography
Cirri was born in Forlì in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy. He had his first musical training with his brother ...
, with simple supraacicular chaetae and compound subacicular chaetae with serrated blades. Its
pygidium has a terminal
anus
The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...
and two pygidial cirri.
Distribution
It was first found in a
minke whale carcass at a depth of in the
Koster area in Sweden, and from
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
between beneath a
fish farm
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
in
Hardangerfjord in Norway.
References
Further reading
*Taboada, Sergi, et al. "Two new Antarctic Ophryotrocha (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) described from shallow-water whale bones." Polar biology 36.7 (2013): 1031–1045.
*Murray, H. M., et al. "Histology and mucous histochemistry of the integument and body wall of a marine polychaete worm, Ophryotrocha n. sp.(Annelida: Dorvilleidae) associated with steelhead trout cage sites on the south coast of Newfoundland." Journal of Marine Biology 2012 (2012).
*Paxton, Hannelore, and Adam Davey. "A new species of Ophryotrocha (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) associated with fish farming at Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, Australia." Zootaxa 2509 (2010): 53–61.
External links
*
WORMS
Polychaetes
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