Paraprotis dendrova Uchida, 1978

(Fig. 14A)

Paraprotis dendrova Uchida, 1978: 16 –17, plas 3, 4 [Sabiura, Japan].

Paraprotis dendrova . —Nishi 1992a: 18–19, fig. 3A–D [Okinawa, Japan]; 1996: 309, fig. 4e [Okinawa, Japan]; Nishi & Yamasu 1992a: 85 [Ryukyu Islands, Japan; brooding]; Rouse 2005: 168, 173, 175, fig. 3B [Okinawa, Japan].

Material examined. SAM E3591, G243, Patch Reef on the way to Palfrey Island, coll. G. Rouse & E. Kupriyanova, 1 Nov 2005; ZMA V.Pol. 4538, Granite Head, 14°39'S, 145°27'E, from underside of boulders on rock, little sand, subtidally, coll. H. ten Hove, 18 Jun 1983 (3, carrying eggs/embryos).

Diagnosis. Operculum absent. Ocellar clusters (2–3 per radiole) present. A spiral projection for brood attachment originates from the right side of the mouth, carrying up to 50 embryos (Fig. 14A). Collar non-lobed.

Remarks. This small (tube about 1 mm wide) cryptic species lacks an operculum and is easily recognizable only when the brooding appendage is present.

Distribution. Okinawa, Japan, Qld, Australia. New record for Australia.