A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed

Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) originally briefly described from New South Wales, Australia was later reported as a widely distributed species of Indo-Pacific origin. The species was assumed to be a highly successful invasive Lessepsian migrant to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. How...

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Main Authors: Elena Kupriyanova, Beth Flaxman, Ingo Burghardt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Australian Museum 2022-11-01
Series:Records of the Australian Museum
Subjects:
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author Elena Kupriyanova
Beth Flaxman
Ingo Burghardt
author_facet Elena Kupriyanova
Beth Flaxman
Ingo Burghardt
author_sort Elena Kupriyanova
collection DOAJ
description Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) originally briefly described from New South Wales, Australia was later reported as a widely distributed species of Indo-Pacific origin. The species was assumed to be a highly successful invasive Lessepsian migrant to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. However, recently, such wide distributions have been questioned and S. tetraceros was treated as a complex of morphologically similar species. Moreover, genetic evidence proved that the species that invaded the Mediterranean originated neither in warm temperate Australia nor in the Red Sea. This study examines the taxonomic status of Spirobranchus tetraceros populations along the east coast of Australia. Given the absence of the holotype, we re-described Spirobranchus tetraceros from New South Wales, designated the neotype supported by DNA sequence data, and fixed Port Botany as the type locality. The phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of a sympatric cryptic species with a mean genetic distance of 36% (described here as S. schmardai sp. nov.) and proved that the tropical coral-associated specimens from Queensland belong to at least two distinct species. We also suggest resurrecting the name S. multicornis Grube, 1862 for the Red Sea population of the Spirobranchus tetraceros complex. This study calls for a worldwide revision of the complex.
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spelling doaj.art-d84ab8d13d5b417093d551c3fc6a6a072022-12-22T04:36:47ZengAustralian MuseumRecords of the Australian Museum0067-19752201-43492022-11-0174520121410.3853/j.2201-4349.74.2022.1820A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealedElena Kupriyanova0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0336-4718Beth Flaxman1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0329-9525Ingo Burghardt2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5251-1708Australian Museum Research InstituteAustralian Museum Research InstituteAustralian Museum Research InstituteSpirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) originally briefly described from New South Wales, Australia was later reported as a widely distributed species of Indo-Pacific origin. The species was assumed to be a highly successful invasive Lessepsian migrant to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. However, recently, such wide distributions have been questioned and S. tetraceros was treated as a complex of morphologically similar species. Moreover, genetic evidence proved that the species that invaded the Mediterranean originated neither in warm temperate Australia nor in the Red Sea. This study examines the taxonomic status of Spirobranchus tetraceros populations along the east coast of Australia. Given the absence of the holotype, we re-described Spirobranchus tetraceros from New South Wales, designated the neotype supported by DNA sequence data, and fixed Port Botany as the type locality. The phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of a sympatric cryptic species with a mean genetic distance of 36% (described here as S. schmardai sp. nov.) and proved that the tropical coral-associated specimens from Queensland belong to at least two distinct species. We also suggest resurrecting the name S. multicornis Grube, 1862 for the Red Sea population of the Spirobranchus tetraceros complex. This study calls for a worldwide revision of the complex.species complexcyt b18sneotypeinvasiveannelidaserpulidae
spellingShingle Elena Kupriyanova
Beth Flaxman
Ingo Burghardt
A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed
Records of the Australian Museum
species complex
cyt b
18s
neotype
invasive
annelida
serpulidae
title A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed
title_full A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed
title_fullStr A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed
title_full_unstemmed A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed
title_short A puzzle no more: the identity of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Serpulidae) is revealed
title_sort puzzle no more the identity of spirobranchus tetraceros schmarda 1861 annelida serpulidae is revealed
topic species complex
cyt b
18s
neotype
invasive
annelida
serpulidae
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