Not only from Opercula live the Serpulidae Rafinesque 1815 (Annelida) – Discussion of new Morphological Characters for Utilization at the Group’s Systematics
Morphology; New characters; Polychaetes; Systematics; Western Atlantic
Serpulidae is a diverse group of tubeworms, easily recognized by the calcareous
tube and bright-colored radiolar crown. Traditionally, the identification of species in the
group has focused on characteristics of the tube and, mainly, the operculum modified
from one of the crown radioles, present in most genera. In Brazil, 46 species were
registered until 2020, of which only nine were originally described in Brazilian territory.
The objective of the present study was to carry out a new taxonomic study of the family
on the Brazilian coast and to search for new characters useful in the identification of
species. Sampling was made punctually in the intertidal region on states at the northeast,
southeast and south regions of Brazil, on different substrates; the specimens were
anesthetized with menthol, fixed with 4% formalin and kept in flasks with 70% ethyl
alcohol. Additionally, specimens deposited in scientific collections at UFRRJ, UFAL,
UERJ, and UFRJ National Museum were analyzed. A total of 26 species belonging to 13
genera were analyzed, five of them being new occurrences for the Brazilian coast and one
corresponding to a new species in the genus Spirobranchus. The knowledge about the
Serpulidae family in Brazil has been extended in 11%, and structures of the animals'
morphology were discussed, as they are not usually used in the group's taxonomy, but
present great potential to refine the identification process of genera and species of
serpulids.