On the morphology of the genus Flota Hartman, 1967 and corroboration of family status of Flotidae Buzhinskaja, 1996 (Polychaeta)

Abstract

Comparative description of the genus Flota is given, including additional data on the anatomical structure of the digestive tract, female gonad, ventral nervous cord, as well as refining of external morphology. The organization of Flota is compared with that of representatives of other families of polychaetes. The arguments for family status of Flotidae are based on features of structure, differentiating Flota from all other polychaetes (tri-ramous non-grooved palps, enormous ventro-lateral pharyngeal organ of peculiar structure and ventral nervous cord with numerous ganglia on connectives). Apart from being differentiated by these characters Flota differs from Flabelligeridae and close families in the structure of the head, digestive tract, parapodia and pygidium, presence of buccal tentacles and surface arrangement of the ventral nervous cord. Discovery of additional specimens of this genus and other representatives of Flotidae, further study of their anatomy and also investigation of the larval development will allow establishing the place of this family among polychaetes.