Hamel, Jean-François; Montgomery, Emaline M.; Barnich, Ruth; Mercier, Annie. (2015). Range extension of the deep-sea polychaete worm Neopolynoe acanellae in Canada. Marine Biodiversity Records. 8(e9): 1-4.
Hamel, Jean-François; Montgomery, Emaline M.; Barnich, Ruth; Mercier, Annie
2015
Range extension of the deep-sea polychaete worm Neopolynoe acanellae in Canada
Marine Biodiversity Records
8(e9): 1-4
Publication
World Polychaeta Database (WPolyDb)
Available for editors
Specimens of the deep-sea scale worm Neopolynoe acanellae (Verrill, 1881) (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) were collected at depths between 466 and 1405 m in Canadian waters while still attached to their host, the pennatulacean coral (sea pen) Pennatula grandis Ehrenberg, 1834. The present records extend the northern latitude of occurrence of N. acanellae in North America by 17o (~2000 km) to include the northern continental shelf of Newfoundland and Labrador and the lower Arctic, off the southern coast of Baffin Island (Canada). Analysis of the worm's intestinal content confirmed the presence of sea pen soft tissues and sclerites, suggesting that this species feeds on its host and is therefore parasitic.
