Locke, Jan Maureen. (1998). Systematics and biology of Grania (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) of the Bermuda Islands. [M.Sc. Thesis, University of Toronto]. 177 pp.

348024

Locke, Jan Maureen

1998

177 pp

Publication

https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/12730/1/MQ45419.pdf

In Chapter 2, Redescriptions of Grania americana, G. bermudensis and descriptions of two new species of Grania (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) frorn Bermuda, "Citation and authority of new species (edit: Grania laxerta) see Lock & Coates (in press) (edit=1999)

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The diversity and distribution of the marine enchytraeid genus Grania present within intertidal and subtidal coastal habitats of the Atlantic island of Bermuda are investigated. Two new species, Grania laxarta and Grania hylae, are recorded and Grania bermudensis and Grania americana are redescribed from Bermuda, Florida and the Caribbean. These recent descriptions incorporate the new taxonomic character information of bipartite sac male apparatus and the anterior cerebral statocyst. This statocyst is the first description within clitellate annelids. These new informative characteristics were combined with a compilation of familiar characters for the genus to produce a dichotomous key for eight species of Grania and two species of the genus Randidrilus from the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Grania species from these areas were also used in a phylogenetic study to determine possible evolutionary relationships among the Bermudian species. An evolutionary hypothesis of dispersal by currents, the Gulf Stream in particular, was suggested for the species of Grania that occupy Bermuda, due to its volcanic, oceanic island history. The combination of good taxonomic information with characteristically small ranged species enable Grania to be a model taxon for zoogeographic studies of benthic marine invertebrates.

Caribbean region

Systematics, Taxonomy

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