[Annelida] Protula from the Indian Ocean

[H.A. ten Hove]

Dear colleagues,

As you may be aware, Dr. Ben-Eliahu and myself are trying to "get a 
foot behind the door" (a toe might be a better comparison) in the 
identification to species within the genera Salmacina and Protula. We 
think that on the ultrastructural level of uncini there may be some 
as yet unexplored possibilities. We are not aiming at a full scale 
revision, that would be a topic for a PhD at least, but just hoping 
to get a better idea of the origin of material collected in the Suez 
Canal, since we are writing a monograph on the serpulids from the SC.

Right now we dearly would like to have a better idea of the structure 
of the uncini in the Indo-West Pacific Protula palliata. The type 
material is not present in the National Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 
and dr. Pillai could not find it either when he still was working in 
Sri Lanka. Topotypical material obviously would be the next best 
option, but unfortunately the Nat. Mus. Colombo has no Protula at all.

Does anyone have access to Protula material (not being the large 
spirally branchied P. bispiralis) from Sri Lanka or as close as 
possible to that locality but within the northern part of the Indian 
Ocean? I do have material from the Seychelles, but that is not close 
enough. I would appreciate receiving some specimens on loan (or as a 
gift) for a careful removal of a few tori for SEM (of course the 
stubs would be returned with the material in case of loan).

wormly,

dr. Harry A. ten Hove
Zoological Museum
University of Amsterdam
Mauritskade 57
P.O.B. 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam
the Netherlands
H.A.tenHove from uva.nl