Peanut worms of the phylum Sipuncula from the Nha Trang Bay (South China Sea) with a key to species
Author
Adrianov, Andrey V.
Author
Maiorova, Anastassya S.
text
Zootaxa
2012
3166
41
58
journal article
45619
10.5281/zenodo.279772
32627594-388c-40b3-8481-0b241b850847
1175-5326
279772
Nephasoma pellucidum
(Keferstein, 1865)
(
Fig. 2 A–B
)
Material.
Nha Trang Bay: Hon Rock,
10–15 m
depth, coral rubble,
10 specimens
; Mung Island,
7–15 m
depth, sand,
1 specimen
.
Description.
Trunk spindle-shaped,
20–25 mm
long and
3–4 mm
wide; introvert shorter than trunk, with scattered hooks of two
types
– small, about 50 μm, and large, up to 300 μm in height. Tentacular crown with 20–30 whitish transparent tentacles. Trunk is translucent, pale tan, with large uniformly distributed digitiform papillae. Body wall with continuous muscle layers; two retractor muscles originate in the mid trunk. Gut with 25–30 loops; spindle muscle not attached posteriorly; contractile vessel with vesicular swellings. Nephridia free, about 35–40% of trunk length, nephridiopores adjacent to anus.
Discussion.
This is the only species of
Nephasoma
that is common in shallow waters of the Indo-West Pacific. In the West Pacific, it has been found inhabiting sandy bottoms and dead corals from
Australia
and
Indonesia
to southern
Japan
.