Pherecardites Horst 1912

• Main Authors: Bleeker, Joke, Harris, Leslie, Ten Hove, Harry A., Salazar-Vallejo, Sergio I.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Annelida; Polychaeta; Amphinomida; Amphinomidae; Pherecardites; Median Ridge; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/8183867; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8183867

Genus Pherecardites Horst, 1912 Pherecardites Horst, 1912: 33. Branchamphinome Hartman, 1967: 42 n. syn. TYPE SPECIES. — Pherecardites parva Horst, 1912, by monotypy. GENDER. — Feminine, after the epithet originally proposed for the type species, parva; Brown (1954: 590) indicates parvus is a Latin masculine adjective, meaning little or small (parva feminine, parvum neuter (see below). DIAGNOSIS. — Amphinominae with chaetiger 1 dorsally incomplete. Caruncle with a median ridge and separate, diverging lateral lobes. Branchiae from chaetiger 1. Neurochaetae spurred, with denticles along inner side. REMARKS Pherecardites Horst, 1912 was described without an illustration of the anterior end. Fauchald (1977) included Pherecardites Horst, 1912 in his key to all genera; however, Fauchald regarded the body shape of Branchamphinome as oval, whereas for Pherecardites it was assumed as rectangular. Nevertheless, Hartman (1967: 43) indicated the body shape of the type species, B. antarctica Hartman, 1967 changes during development: “Smaller individuals resemble the short Chloeia whereas longer ones are more like Eurythoe.” The latter has been regarded as having rectangular body. Consequently, Pherecardites and Branchamphinome have the same body shape and types of chaetae. What about the caruncle? Horst (1912: 33) indicated “caruncle consisting of a median axis and some lateral lamellae, directed backwards.” And in describing the type species, P. parva, a few lines below, he wrote: “its caruncle extends over three segments and consists of a median axis and four lateral lobes, directed backwards.” Hartman (1967: 43) indicated, in the description of the type species, B. antarctica, “the caruncle is tripartite, consisting of a larger, longer median lobe with lateral branches, and a pair of shorter lateral lobes […]” These two descriptions indicate a very similar shape, and after the study of type specimens, the two genera are herein regarded as synonyms. Pherecardites Horst, 1912 might be regarded as a name applied to fossils ...