Lumbrineris magalhaensis Kinberg, 1865 (Annelida: Lumbrineridae) revealed as two indigenous species in South Africa

Abstract

Lumbrineris magalhaensis Kinberg, 1865 (Annelida: Lumbrineridae) is a marine polychaete worm that was first described from the Magellan Strait, Chile; thereafter it was also reported in sub-Antarctic, temperate and tropical regions, where it was likely misidentified. In South African waters, Lumbrineris magalhaensis may have been erroneously synonymised with Lumbriconereis pettigrewi McIntosh, 1885, which was first described from off the Cape of Good Hope. Specimens collected from the Knysna Estuary on the south coast of South Africa were recently identified as Lumbrineris magalhaensis based on identification keys for local fauna. However, the specimens all differ from descriptions of the type material and previous descriptions of Lumbrineris magalhaensis, as well as from re-examined specimens of Lumbriconereis pettigrewi (three syntypes, collected off the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa), with regard to prostomium shape, numbers of teeth on maxillae III and IV, shape of maxilla II, size and colour of maxilla II connecting plates, arrangement of limbate chaetae and the habitat. The specimens from Knysna have therefore been designated as Lumbrineris knysnaensis van Niekerk, Kara, Alvarez Aguilar & Simon sp. nov. Furthermore, the synonymisation of Lumbriconereis pettigrewi and Lumbrineris magalhaensis has been reversed, owing to differences in prostomium shape, number of teeth on maxilla IV, depth of collection and habitat type; therefore, Lumbrineris pettigrewi comb. nov. reinst. is supported. Analysis of mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) indicated that the Knysna specimens represent a single species and do not match any other known species, corroborating the morphological data. Further morphological and genetic investigations of Lumbrineris magalhaensis from other regions are needed to resolve the taxonomy of this species.