Timarete punctata sp. A

Invasion History

First Non-native Panama (Caribbean) Tidal Record: 1931

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Panama Invasion History:

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Invasion history elsewhere in the world:

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Description

Timarete punctata sp. A is an infaunal polychaete of the family Cirratulidae. The anterior portion of the body is thickened, but tapered and elongated posteriorly, with a shallow ventral groove. Branchiae resembling strands of spaghetti, extend from all the segments of the body, and are longer on the anterior and middle portions of the body. The prostomium is broad and triangular, and bluntly pointed. Eyes are absent. The peristomium is short, aproximately 1.5 X the length of the prostomium, with two annulations. Tentacular filaments, in groups of 5 are present on chaetigers 3 and 4. Notopodia and neuropodia are poorly developed all along the body. In chaetigers 1-10, branchiae arise just dorsal to the notopodia, but from chaetigers 10-26, they originate closer to the midline of the body. From chaetigers 26 to 42, they move closer to the notopodia,and continue just above the notopodia to the end of the body. Capillary chaetae are present on the notopodium and neuropodium of each chaetiger. Acicular spines, about 1/3 the length of the capillary chaetae, and somehat sigmoid and hook-like, occur first on the neuropodia of chaetiger 6 and on the notopodia of chaetiger 8. Anterior chaetigers bear three acicular spines, and two capillary chaetae on the notopodia and three acicular spines and two capillary chaeta on the neuropodia. The middle chaetigers, bear two acicular spines, and two capillary chaetae on the both the notopodia and neuropodia. Posterior chaetigers have one acicular spine, and one capillary chaeta on the notopodia, and two spines and one capillary on the neuropodia. The pygidium is triangular, and the anal opening is placed dorsally (Cinar 2007). The largest specimen reported was 50 mm with 70 chaetigers, from South Africa. The body of preserved worms is light to dark brown, with black spots on the body, and black bars on the branchiae and tentacles (Day 1967; Cinar 2007; Seixas et al. 2017). Living worms of species A have bright yellow branchiae, and tentacles, with black bars only on the tentacles. Species B has black bars on both the tentacles and branchiae (Seixas et al. 2017).

Molecular analysis indicates that there are two cryptic species under the name Timarete punctata, one of which (species A.) is widely distributed around the world, with very little genetic diversity (Seixas et al. 2007). The type specimen of Timarete punctata was collected by Grube from Christiansted, St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands in 1845 (Cinar 2007). Worms apparently of this species, are known from the tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. A genetic survey found that T. punctata species A, was found in Panama, several sites in Brazil, and Hawaii. Sepcies B was found only in Bahia, Brazil (Seixa set al. 2020).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

Timarete punctata is a marine cirratulid polychaete, most often assoicated with soft sediments, but also found in fouling communtiies and rocky habitats (Cinar 2007). The mode of sexual reproduction is poorly known, though oocytes were found in one specimen. Asexual reproduction through fission and fragmetation is common.. Cittatulid polychaets are associated with soft sediments, but are also found on hard calcarous bottomd, and among tunicates, barnacles, mussels, and sponges in fouling communities (Cinar 2007; Seixas et al. 2017). The specimens in Cevik harbor were found in an old tire (Cinar 2007). Cirratulids are known to be deposit-feeders (Fauchauld and Jumars 1979). Accumulated sediment, feces, and pseudofeces in fouling communtiies are a potential source of food.

Food:

Detritus, microalgae

Trophic Status:

Deposit Feeder

DepFed

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Habitats

General Habitat	Rocky	None
General Habitat	Unstructured Bottom	None
General Habitat	Coral reef	None
General Habitat	Marinas & Docks	None
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Tidal Range	Low Intertidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Endobenthic	None

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Life History

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Maximum Length (mm)	50	None
Broad Temperature Range	None	Subtropical-Tropical
Broad Salinity Range	None	Polyhaline-Euhaline

General Impacts

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References

Baurick, Tristan 2/24/2018 Insects feast on Louisiana wetlands,, inviting the Gulf in. <missing URL>



Charpy, Loic; Palinska, Katarzyna A. P.;; Casareto, Beatriz; Langlade, Marie José; Suzuki; Yoshimi ; Abed, Raeid M. M.; Golubic, Stjepko (None) Dinitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacteria in Microbial Mats of Two Shallow Coral Reef Ecosystems, None <missing volume>: <missing location>

Dann, Alison L.; Ellard, Kevin; Grove, Simon J.; Willan, Richard C. (2020) Genetic confirmation of Mya japonica Jay, 1857 (Bivalvia: Myidae) in Tasmania, Australia: first record of any species of Mya in the southern hemisphere, BioInvasiob=ns Records 9(1): 103–108

Essink,, Karel; Oost, Peter, Albert (2019) How did Mya arenaria (Mollusca; Bivalvia) repopulate European waters in mediaeval times?, Marine Biodiversity 49: Published online

Fauchald, Kristian; Jumars, Peter A. (1979) The diet of worms : A study of polychaete feeding guilds, Oceanography and Marine Biology, an Annual Review 17: 193-284

Fuquay, Jen Maucher undated Dasci Cyanobacteria ID Guide. <missing URL>



Hartman, Olga (1966) Polychaetous annelids of the Hawaiian Islands, Occasional Papers of Bernice P. Bishop Museum 23(11): 163-252

Ruiz, Gregory M.; Geller, Jonathan (2018) Spatial and temporal analysis of marine invasions in California, Part II: Humboldt Bay, Marina del Re, Port Hueneme, and San Francisco Bay, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center & Moss Landing Laboratories, Edgewater MD, Moss Landing CA. Pp. <missing location>

Seixas, Victor Correa; Zanol, Joana; Magalhaes, Wagner F.; Paiva, Paulo Cesar (2017) Genetic diversity of Timarete punctata (Annelida: Cirratulidae): Detection of pseudo-cryptic species and a potential biological invader, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 197: 214-220

U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2002-2021 Invertebrate Zoology Collections Database. http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/iz/



Wiltshire, K.; Rowling, K.; Deveney, M. (2010) <missing title>, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Adelaide. Pp. 1-232

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