The First Report of Micronephthys Sphaerocirrata: Nephtyidae in Sub-Tidal Areas of Chabahar Bay

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify Micronephthys sphaerocirrata species in sub-tidal areas of Chabahar Bay during the time period from June 2013 to February 2014. The study area is located in south- east of Iran Oman - Sistan and Baluchistan coast. The sampling was performed from Shahid Beheshti, Hafte Tir and Konarak ports. The samples were taken seasonally from each port three times from the depths of 2- 10 meters by Van-Veen grab (250 cm2) for identification and one liter of sediment was taken to determine the grain size of the sediment habitat M. sphaerocirrata. The samples were sent to the laboratory and the identifications were performed based on the necessary resources and references. Also the environmental factors such as pH, Salinity, temperature in the sample were determined. The results of this study indicated that M. sphaerocirrata species had the highest frequency during autumn.