Autolytinae (Annelida, Syllidae) from Australia

GUILLERMO SAN MARTÍN — 2026-06-11

This study provides a comprehensive taxonomic revision of Autolytinae (Polychaeta, Syllidae) from Australian waters, based on extensive collections housed at the Australian Museum (Sydney). All known Australian members of the subfamily are described and illustrated and accompanied by diagnostic keys to genera and species. We report 26 species belonging to eight genera—one of them new to science: Imajimaea Nygren, 2004 (3 species); Nygrenia gen. nov. (2); Paraproceraea Nygren, 2004 (4); Proceraea Ehlers, 1864 (6); Procerastea Langerhans, 1884 (2); Virchowia Langerhans, 1879 (3); Epigamia Nygren, 2004 (1); and Myrianida Milne Edwards, 1845 (5). The genera Imajimaea—with I. zonata (Mohammad, 1973)—Epigamia—with E. noroi (Imajima & Hartman, 1964)—and Paraproceraea are recorded for the first time in Australia, while 14 species are described as new to science: Imajimaea annulata sp. nov., I. gerardoi sp. nov., Nygrenia acutidentata sp. nov., N. longiproventriculata sp. nov., Paraproceraea duplotransversa sp. nov., Paraproceraea garciabarrosi sp. nov., P. tricolor sp. nov., P. werrup sp. nov., Proceraea australis sp. nov., P. boolajimbirn sp. nov., P. nuriae sp. nov., P. orangeotransversa sp. nov., Myrianida polocaviae sp. nov., and M. pharyngeolongissima sp. nov. One species of the genus Proceraea is described without giving a specific name, as its distinctive morphological characters and the availability of a single specimen make its placement within the genus uncertain. We examined specimens of the most abundant taxa using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and we documented the reproductive modes within the subfamily, including the structure and morphology of sexual stolons for several species.

Zootaxa

Autolytinae (Annelida, Syllidae) from Australia