On a new Aphrodite-species (Aphrod. roulei) from the North Atlantic

• Main Author: Horst, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1917
• Subjects: Aphrodite; Tooth The; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/318869

Among the Annelids of the Leiden Museum I met with two specimens of the genus Aphrodite from the North Atlantic 1), purchased some years ago from the late Mr. G. A. Frank, the well-known dealer in natural objects. They agree with Aphrod. perarmata Roule 2), collected by the "Talisman" in the middle Atlantic (Los Pilones), in the presence of hooked ventral bristles, but cannot be identified with that species.\nThe largest specimen has a length of about 60 mm., whereas it greatest breadth is 30 mm.; the number of its segments amounts to 36.\nThe body has an elongated ellipsoidal shape, with a rather acuminate anal end, while anteriorly it is hardly narrowed. Its ventral side has the appearance of shagreen, being densely beset with small, globular papillae, and its dorsum is covered with a thick felt, coated with mud. Through this felt pierce the fascicles of large dorsal bristles, that are arranged in two longitudinal rows; they are bent towards the dorsal median line but are not long enough to reach it. These bristles (fig. 1) have their basal part dark brown coloured and densely covered with small warts, whereas the hookshaped apex is of a pale hue and smooth. The short dorsal bristles, that have a straight, uncoloured, vitreous apex, are in the middle of their length covered with warts.\nThe ventral bristles (fig. 2) as usually are arranged in three groups; the upper group contains two large bristles, the inferior group consists of about a dozen of smaller ones, whereas in the median part there occur seven bristles of intermediate length. They all terminate distally in a slightly curved hook and at the base of this hook are provided with a blunt tooth. The dorsal cirri are rather short and do not extend to the