Enchiridium magec Cuadrado, Moro & Noreña, 2017

Ramos-Sánchez, Mariela, 2024, The polyclads (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida) from the Tropical Eastern Pacific: Commented checklist and description of a new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 962 (1), pp. 1-67 : 41-42

Enchiridium magec Cuadrado, Moro & Noreña, 2017

Enchiridium magec Cuadrado et al., 2017: 45–47 , figs 3a–f, 11d (type locality: El Balito, Tenerife, Canary Archipelago, Spain).

Enchiridium magec – Soutullo et al. 2021: 374–376 , fig. 4b–e (new record from Carbón Beach, Las Baulas National Park of Guanacaste, Costa Rica (10°20′53.4″ N, 85°51′44.5″ W )).

Distribution

El Balito, Tenerife, Canary Archipelago, Spain; Carbón Beach, Las Baulas National Park of Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Habitat

Benthic, rocky substrates, at depths of 4–20 meters or low intertidal, below stones on sand.

Remarks

Enchiridium magec is a species described in the Atlantic Ocean in the Canary Archipelago by Cuadrado et al. (2017) and subsequently recorded in the Pacific Ocean in Guanacaste Costa Rica by Soutullo et al. (2021). Enchiridium magec is characterized by an elongated body with a smooth dorsal surface. The background color is yellow with cream dots and dark brown spots in the central area, forming a continuous longitudinal midline. The species possesses cerebral eyes and a tubular pharynx. The male reproductive system features a single male gonopore, anterior to the female, with an elongated penis papilla armed with a long tubular stylet, two interpolated prostatic vesicles included in a very characteristic muscular bulb, and a seminal vesicle surrounded by a second muscular bulb. The female reproductive system presents a short, posteriorly oriented vagina, surrounded by cement glands. The present study considers the species’ record on the west coast of Central America as questionable and suggests a review of the material and the mechanisms of interoceanic dispersal of the species.