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First record of the invasive worm Branchiomma bairdi (Annelida: Sabellidae) in the Balearic Sea (Western Mediterranean)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2017
Abstract
The invasive sabellid Branchiomma bairdi (McIntosh, 1885) was collected in the Estany des Peix lagoon (Formentera Island, Balearic Sea, Western Mediterranean). This species is native to Bermuda (Western Atlantic Ocean), being widely distributed through the Caribbean Sea. However, it has been described as invasive worldwide, being also present in the Indo-Pacific region, the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We here provide the first record of the species for the Balearic Sea, together with a comparison to other morphologically similar alien species, Branchiomma boholense (Grube, 1878), which is supposed to have also been introduced in the Mediterranean basin. We also include comprehensive taxonomic descriptions of both taxa based on the type material, a dichotomous key for the Mediterranean species of Branchiomma and hypothesize the most likely way of introduction of B. bairdi in the Balearic region.
Keywords
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Special Issue 8: Special Section: European Marine Biology Symposium Papers 2018 , December 2018 , pp. 1955 - 1963
- Copyright
- Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017
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