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Issue: Vol. 5729 No. 2: 15 Dec. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-12-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5729.2.7
Page range: 349-369
Abstract views: 67
PDF downloaded: 4

Travisiid worms from deep water off Western Mexico with the establishment of a new species (Annelida: Travisiidae)

Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas; Laboratorio de Zoología de Invertebrados No Artrópodos; Av. Pedro de Alba esq. Manuel L. Barragán; San Nicolás de los Garza; 66455; Nuevo León; México
Marine Monitoring Unit; Environmental Assessment Program; Washington State Department of Ecology; 300 Desmond Dr. SE; P.O. Box 47710; Olympia; WA 98504-7710.
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas; Laboratorio de Zoología de Invertebrados No Artrópodos; Av. Pedro de Alba esq. Manuel L. Barragán; San Nicolás de los Garza; 66455; Nuevo León; México
Laboratorio de Invertebrados Bentónicos; Unidad Académica Mazatlán; Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Av. Joel Montes Camarena s/n; Sinaloa 82140; Mexico
Annelida Continental slope deep sea Opheliidae Travisia pupa grub-like worms fetid worms

Abstract

Two species of travisiid worms are here reported from the continental slope of western Mexico. Travisia brevis Moore, 1923, a species reported in Mexican waters since 1972, was found off Guerrero to 880‒1928 m depth. A new species of Travisia is established for material collected off Jalisco, Colima and Guerrero, between 1050‒1992 m depth. Travisia pupa Moore, 1906 has been suggested to be present in Mexican waters and at first view it has some similarity with the new species described herein. Consequently, specimens of T. pupa from Puget Sound, Washington State, United States of America, were reviewed and analyzed for comparative purposes. Travisia hernandezalcantarai sp. nov., has a unique set of distinctive features: nuchal organs remarkably large, parapodial lappets absent, mid-ventral groove present, annulate branchiae from chaetiger 2 and peculiar rows of spherical papillae along body segments. Full descriptions and illustrations are provided for the three species. A key to species of Travisia from the North American Pacific is provided.

 

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How to Cite

Tovar-Hernández, M.A., Burgess, D.E., León-González, J.A.D. & Hendrickx, M.E. (2025) Travisiid worms from deep water off Western Mexico with the establishment of a new species (Annelida: Travisiidae). Zootaxa, 5729 (2), 349–369. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5729.2.7