As pointed out by Knight-Jones & Walker (1985), the genus Demonax Kinberg has been largely ignored for the last 100 years, due to Kinberg's (1867) diagnosis which was a very narrow one. The genus is characterized by the peculiar shape of companion setae (Johansson, 1925; Rioja, 1962; Knight-Jones, 1983), while the shape of inferior thoracic setae is very variable (Perkins, 1984). Before considering the first of these characters, some species with slender inferior thoracic setae were referred to the Sabella L. genus (Banse, 1979), and species with broadly hooded inferior thoracic setae were referred to Potamilla Malmgren genus. For this reason, the species Potamilla torelli Malmgren was wrongly reported within Mediterranean fauna (Claparède, 1870; Lo Bianco, 1893; Iroso, 1921; Giangrande, 1990). At present 24 species are listed within the genus, of which only D. brachychona (Claparède) and D. tenuicollaris (Grube) are known for the Mediterranean fauna (Knight-Jones, 1983; Knight-Jones et al., 1991). The finding of several individuals belonging to the genus Demonax along the Apulian coast (Adriatic Sea) allowed a better definition of the species present in the Mediterranean Sea, and the description of a new species.
The genus Demonax (Polychaeta, Sabellidae) in the Mediterranean Sea, with description of D. tommasi
GIANGRANDE, Adriana
1994-01-01
Abstract
As pointed out by Knight-Jones & Walker (1985), the genus Demonax Kinberg has been largely ignored for the last 100 years, due to Kinberg's (1867) diagnosis which was a very narrow one. The genus is characterized by the peculiar shape of companion setae (Johansson, 1925; Rioja, 1962; Knight-Jones, 1983), while the shape of inferior thoracic setae is very variable (Perkins, 1984). Before considering the first of these characters, some species with slender inferior thoracic setae were referred to the Sabella L. genus (Banse, 1979), and species with broadly hooded inferior thoracic setae were referred to Potamilla Malmgren genus. For this reason, the species Potamilla torelli Malmgren was wrongly reported within Mediterranean fauna (Claparède, 1870; Lo Bianco, 1893; Iroso, 1921; Giangrande, 1990). At present 24 species are listed within the genus, of which only D. brachychona (Claparède) and D. tenuicollaris (Grube) are known for the Mediterranean fauna (Knight-Jones, 1983; Knight-Jones et al., 1991). The finding of several individuals belonging to the genus Demonax along the Apulian coast (Adriatic Sea) allowed a better definition of the species present in the Mediterranean Sea, and the description of a new species.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
