Sipuncula (Peanut worms) from Bocas del Toro, Panama
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abstract
In a survey of sipunculan diversity in the Bocas del Toro (Panama) region, sipunculans were collected from 10 stations, ranging in depth from intertidal to 37 m. Nineteen species of adult sipunculans were collected. In addition, two types of pelagic sipunculan larvae were retrieved from plankton tows. Thirteen of the adult sipunculan species were inhabitants of hard substrate, either in crevices or burrowing into rocks. These included representatives of the genera Antillesoma, Aspidosiphon, Golfingia, Nephasoma, Phascolosoma, Phascolion and Themiste. An unidentified Phascolion, an unidentified Aspidosiphon and Antillesoma antillarum (the latter usually an inhabitant of rock crevices) were retrieved from gastropod shells. Sipunculidae sp., Sipunculus sp., Phascolion sp. and Nephasoma cf. eremita were recovered by trawling in soft mud. While the hard-substrate sipunculans are all well-known and widely distributed species, three of the four soft-substrate inhabitants were morphologically unusual and/or unexpected in tropical waters. Copyright 2005 Colleg of Art and Sciences.
