Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Page 155

TVEY SLØC AV ÆTTINI PRIAPULIDAE í FØROYSKUM SJÓØKI
153
Station Number Lat-N-Start (deg-decimaldeg) Long-W-Start (deg-decimaldeg) Depth
172 1 62,3187 -3,9132 507
230 1 61,1493 -4,9037 703
361 6 61,8383 -4,0833 700
362 1 61,8217 -3,8533 798
481 1 61,0027 -5,1898 604
482 1 61,0323 -5,2323 509
774 1 62,4117 -3,8700 560
750 1 62,8117 -5,7350 600
9018 2 62,7412 -5,6390 503
Fisher (1922) - 60,6667 -5,5833 652
Table 2. All stations with Priapulopsis bicaudatus from Faroese waters.
m2) had 17 specimens but about half of all
the samples had only a single specimen.
Priapulopsis bicaudatus
During the BIOFAR program (1988-1991)
(Nørrevang et al., 1994; Tendal et al„ 2005)
about 600 stations were sampled around the
Faroe Islands mostly at depths below 100 m.
Priapulopsis bicaudatus was found at nine
stations at depths from 503 m to 798 m.
These are all stations from a complex depth
zone of water masses belonging to the cold
southward flowing water masses (Hansen
and Østerhus, 2000). A total of 15 specimens
were found at these nine stations - seven
stations with a single specimen, one station
with two specimens and one station with six
specimens.
Fischer (1922) reported this species from
652 m at 60° 40' N and 5° 35' W. From bathy-
metric maps of the area it is clear that the
position given by Fischer must be deeper
than the noted 652 m. If we choose to be-
lieve that the depth is correct, which accords
well with the actual depth range found in
this paper, then the position must be either
a bit north of the given position or a bit
more to the west. However, if the position is
correct, the depth of this position is about
800 m which is about the maximum depth
registered in this paper.
Family Priapulidae Gosse, 1855
Characteristics: Macrobenthic worms with
body arranged in three parts: the annulated
trunk, an anterior introvert, which is sepa-
rated from the trunk by a small constriction,
and a posterior caudal appendage. The phar-
ynx has several rows of teeth arranged in
pentagons, and the introvert has 25 longitu-
dinal rows of scalids. The annulated trunk
has various papillae with or without poste-
rior warts; the mono- or bicaudal tail can be
smooth or clearly segmented. There are two
retractors; the larvae have flattened bilateral
lorica; external fertilization.
There are three contemporary genera:
Priapulus Lamarck, 1816; Príapulopsis Koren
and Danielssen, 1875 and Acanthopriapulus
van der Land, 1970. In Faroese waters there
are two genera: Priapulus and Priapulopsis.
Phylum PRIAPULIDA