CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE POORLY KNOWN ECHIURID SPECIES MAXMUELLERIA GIGAS (M. MÜLLER, 1852) IN THE SLOVENIAN SEA
PDF (OPEN ACCESS)

Keywords

Echiura
sediment mounds
videotransects
Northern Adriatic

How to Cite

LEBAN, N., & PITACCO, V. (2025). CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE POORLY KNOWN ECHIURID SPECIES MAXMUELLERIA GIGAS (M. MÜLLER, 1852) IN THE SLOVENIAN SEA. ANNALES, SERIES HISTORIA NATURALIS, 35(1), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.19233/ASHN.2025.16

Funding data

Abstract

In September 2024, a specimen of Maxmuelleria gigas (M. Müller, 1852) was found during a monitoring campaign in the Bay of Koper. This record is the second one of this less known macrobenthic species in the Slovenian Sea and one among few up to date reported in the Adriatic Sea, as well. Sediment mounds observed with an underwater video sledge on muddy bottom in the southern part of the Gulf of Trieste have been related to this species. The species distribution and density (47 per 100 m2) were estimated based on the quantification of the observed sediment mounds. The potential underestimation of the density and distribution of this species in the Gulf of Trieste in the past studies is discussed in relation to sampling method.

https://doi.org/10.19233/ASHN.2025.16
PDF (OPEN ACCESS)

References

Agius, L., V. Jaccarini, J.A. Ballantine, V. Ferrito, A. Pelter, A.F. Psaila & V.A. Zammit (1979): Photodynamic action of bonellin, an integumentary chlorin of Bonellia viridis Rolando (Echiura, Bonelliidae). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B, 63(1), 109-117.

Atkinson, R.J., C. Froglia, E. Arneri & B. Antolini (1997): Observations on the burrows and burrowing behaviour of Squilla mantis L. (Crustacea: Stomatopoda). Mar. Ecol., 18(4), 337-359.

Atkinson, R.J., C. Froglia, E. Arneri & B. Antolini (1998): Observations on the burrow and burrowing behaviour of Brachynotus gemmellari and on the burrows of several other species occurring on Squilla grounds off Ancona, central Adriatic. Sci. Mar., 62(1-2), 91-100.

Biseswar, R. (2009): The geographic distribution of echiurans in the Atlantic Ocean (Phylum Echiura). Zootaxa, 2222, 17-30.

Biseswar, R. (2012): Zoogeography of the echiuran fauna of the East Pacific Ocean (Phylum: Echiura). Zootaxa, 2727, 69-76.

Dworschak, P. (1987): Burrows of Solecurtus strigilatus (Linné) and S. multistriatus (Scacchi). Senckenb. Marit., 19, 131-147.

Dworschak, P. (2001): The burrows of Callianassa tyrrhena (Petagna, 1792) (Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Mar. Ecol., 22, 155-166.

Dworschak, P. (2004): Biology of Mediterranean and Caribbean Thalassinidea. In: Tamaki, A. (ed.): Proceedings of the Symposium “Ecology of Large Bioturbators in Tidal Flats and Shallow Sublittoral Sediments – From Individual Behaviour to Their Role as Ecosystem Engineers”. Marine Research Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 15-22.

Hughes, D.J., A.D. Ansell & R.J.A. Atkinson (1996a): Distribution, ecology and life cycle of Maxmuelleria lankesteri (Echiura: Bonelliidae): A review with notes on field identification. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K., 76(4), 879-908.

Hughes, D.J., A.D. Ansell & R.J.A. Atkinson (1996b): Sediment bioturbation by the echiuran worm Maxmuelleria lankesteri (Herdman) and its consequences for radionuclide dispersal in Irish Sea sediments. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 195(2), 203-220.

King, J.N. (2011): Analytical characterization of selective benthic flux components in estuarine and coastal waters. In: Wolanski, E. & D. McLusky (eds.): Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science. Elsevier, 397-423.

Lipej, L. & B. Vrišer (1999): Stanje raziskanosti favne nevretenčarjev v slovenskem morju. Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Morska biološka postaja Piran, Ljubljana, 15-17. [In Slovenian].

Mackie, A., R. Coggan & S. van Heteren (2007): Grab sampling. In: Coggan, R., J. Populus, J. White, K. Sheehan, F. Fitzpatrick & S. Piel (eds.): Review of Standards and Protocols for Seabed Habitat Mapping. 2nd ed. MESH, 152-165.

Marrs, S., R.J.A. Atkinson & J. Hills (1996): Final Report EC Study Project 94/069: Calibration of the Towed Underwater TV Technique for Use in Stock Assessment of Nephrops norvegicus.

Mavrič, B., A. Fortič, L. Lipej, T. Makovec, M. Orlando-Bonaca, V. Pitacco, T. Premrl, M. Šiško & L.L. Zamuda (2023): Nadgradnja poznavanja biotskih in abiotskih značilnosti ter obsega bentoških habitatnih tipov cirkalitoralni grobi sedimenti (MC3), cirkalitoralni premešani sedimenti (MC4) in cirkalitoralni peski (MC5). Končno poročilo, maj 2023. Poročila 216. Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana. [In Slovenian].

Minelli, A., S. Ruffo & S. La Posta (2003): Checklist delle specie della fauna italiana. Calderini, Bologna. Mem. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Verona, 2. serie, Sezione Scienze della Vita, 21-23. [In Italian].

Moore, C., D. Harries, R.J.A. Atkinson, L. Clark, R. Cook, N. Hirst, G. Saunders, A. Lyndon, W. Sanderson & J. Porter (2013): The Distribution and Condition of Proposed Protected Features within the Loch Sween Possible Nature Conservation MPA. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report, 621 pp.

Murina, V.V. (1984): The composition and distribution of the echiurans of the Mediterranean. Tr. Inst. Okeanol. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 119, 82-98. [In Russian].

Naseer, A., E.N. Baro, S.D. Khan, Y. Vila & J. Doyle (2022): Automatic detection of Nephrops norvegicus burrows from underwater imagery using deep learning. Comput. Mater. Contin., 70(3), 5321-5344.

Nickell, L.A., R.J.A. Atkinson, D. Hughes, A.D. Ansell & C.J. Smith (1995): Burrow morphology of the echiuran worm Maxmuelleria lankesteri (Echiura: Bonelliidae), and a brief review of burrow structure and related ecology of the Echiura. J. Nat. Hist., 29(4), 871-885.

Ogorelec, B., M. Mišič & J. Faganeli (1991): Marine geology of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic): Sedimentological aspects. Mar. Geol., 99(1-2), 79-92.

Pan, J. & D. Pratolongo (2021): Soft-bottom marine benthos. In: Pan, J. & D. Pratolongo (eds.): Marine Biology: A Functional Approach to the Oceans and Their Organisms. Vol. 1. CRC Press, 180-210.

Pervesler, P. & P. Dworschak (1985): Burrows of Jaxea nocturna Nardo in the Gulf of Trieste. Senckenb. Marit., 17, 33-53.

Pitacco, V. (2020): First record of the echiurid Maxmuelleria gigas (M. Müller, 1852) in Slovenian waters (Northern Adriatic). Annales, Ser. Hist. Nat., 30(2), 239-242.

Pitacco, V., B. Mavrič & L. Lipej (2023): A preliminary study of soft-bottom benthic communities in an area affected by intense maritime traffic (Slovenian Sea, Northern Adriatic). Mar. Pollut. Bull., 188, 114672.

Rice, A.L. & C.J. Chapman (1971): Observations on the burrows and burrowing behaviour of two mud-dwelling decapod crustaceans, Nephrops norvegicus and Goneplax rhomboides. Mar. Biol., 10(4), 330-342.

Rice, A.L. & A.D.F. Johnstone (1972): The burrowing behaviour of the gobiid fish Lesueurigobius friesii (Collett). Z. Tierpsychol., 30(4), 431-438.

Rosenberg, R. (1995): Benthic marine fauna structured by hydrodynamic processes and food availability. Neth. J. Sea Res., 34(4), 303-317.

Simonini, R., I. Ansaloni, P. Bonini, V. Grandi, F. Graziosi, M. Iotti, G. Massamba-N’Siala, M. Mauri, G. Montanari, M. Preti, N. De Nigris & D. Prevedelli (2007): Recolonization and recovery dynamics of the macrozoobenthos after sand extraction in relict sand bottoms of the Northern Adriatic Sea. Mar. Environ. Res., 64(5), 574-589.

Sket, B. (2003): Zvezdaši – Echiurida. In: Sket, B., M. Gogala & V. Kuštor (eds.): Živalstvo Slovenije. Tehniška založba Slovenije, Ljubljana, 155-156. [In Slovenian].

Stephen, A.C. & S.J. Edmonds (1972): The Phyla Sipuncula and Echiura. British Museum (Natural History), London, 393 pp.

Zavodnik, D. (2016): Marine fauna of Mljet National Park (Adriatic Sea, Croatia). 6. Leptocardia. Nat. Croat., 25, 213-221.

Ziebis, W., S. Forster, M. Huettel & B.B. Jørgensen (1996): Complex burrows of the mud shrimp Callianassa truncata and their geochemical impact in the seabed. Nature, 382(6592), 619-622.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.