INTERSTITIAL POLYCHAETES OF JAPAN II. -A NEW SPECIES OF HESIONURA FROM WESTERN JAPAN-

Abstract

Hesionura, belonging to the family Phyllodocidae, is a genus mostly composed of interstitial species. Nine species and one subspecies have so far been recorded from various localities in the world. The present paper provides the first record of the genus from Japan. The materials from three localities in western Japan were examined. Their setae were especially observed under the phase contrast microscope of one thousand magnification. The result has revealed that they all represent a single new species, whose type specimens are preserved at the Osaka Museum of Natural History. I would like to express my hearty thanks to Prof. Eiji Harada of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory for reading the manuscript. Thanks are also due to Mr. Yasuji Sakai of the Nansei Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory who has placed the material at my disposal.