Hypselodoris juniperae, Gosliner & Johnson, 2018

Epstein, Hannah E., Hallas, Joshua M., Johnson, Rebecca Fay, Lopez, Alessandra & Gosliner, Terrence M., 2018, Reading between the lines: revealing cryptic species diversity and colour patterns in Hypselodoris nudibranchs (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Chromodorididae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 20 (1), pp. 1-74 : 29-31

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1093/zoolinnean/zly048
publication LSID	urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F0065FD2-417C
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5980680
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/411BF606-FFFE-FFA3-FC10-FD80FD5168F8
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Hypselodoris juniperae
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

HYPSELODORIS JUNIPERAE GOSLINER & JOHNSON View in CoL SP. NOV.

(FIGS 1F, 2G, 16)

L S I D: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. o r g:a c t: 3 E5 9 F D 3 C - 9CDD-4663-A867-EF74877AB7A8

Hypselodoris cf. maculosa Rudman, 1999b View in CoL , in part.

Type material

Holotype: CASIZ 175550 , subsampled for molecular study, dissected, wall at south end of reef, 14.157833°S, 47.6485°E, west of Nosy Valiha , Îles Radama, Madagascar, 15 October 2005, T. Gosliner and S. Fahey. GoogleMaps

Type locality

West of Nosy Valiha, Îles Radama, Madagascar.

Geographical distribution

Known from Madagascar (present study) and possibly Sri Lanka ( Houben, 2007), South Africa ( Ogden, 2005) and Reunion Island ( Bidgrain, 2005).

Etymology

This small but striking species is named for author Rebecca Johnson’s daughter, Juniper Rodgers. Juniper, also one of a kind, loves bright colours and patterns, and when she was only 4 years old said, ‘Slugs are just like land nudibranchs’. This nudibranch is for you.

Description

External morphology: Living animals ( Fig. 1F View Figure 1 ) small, reaching 9 mm in length. Body long, slender, translucent pink, with four groups of small white tubercles arranged longitudinally in linear fashion. Two additional rows of submarginal spots. Deep purple spots found between areas of white spots, arranged in longitudinal rows. Centre of spots darker purple than outer portions. Broad orange band along lateral margins of notum, with deeper orange anteriorly and posteriorly in region of mantle glands. Anterior and posterior ends of the animal with purple areas. Similar pattern of lines and spots found on lateral margins of the body and foot. Five to six unipinnate gill branches having a translucent white base and inner margin and bright red–orange pigment on outer surface margin. Bulb of perfoliate rhinophores opaque white, with two red transverse bands and bearing ~11 densely arranged lamellae. Base of rhinophores translucent white.

Mantle glands: Subcutaneous mantle glands simple and rounded in shape ( Fig. 2G View Figure 2 ). Glands situated anteriorly and posteriorly, with no glands present in the central lateral regions of body margin. Ten glands on either side of anterior end of the body, with arc of ten glands situated posteriorly.

Buccal armature: Muscular portion of buccal mass longer than oral tube. Chitinous labial cuticle found at anterior end of muscular portion of the buccal mass bearing numerous jaw rodlets ( Fig. 16A View Figure 16 ). Rodlets sharply angled with single, acutely pointed apex and posterolateral extensions. Radular formula of holotype (CASIZ 175550) 33 × 19.0.19. Rachidian row of teeth absent ( Fig. 16B View Figure 16 ). Innermost lateral teeth having one large triangular denticle on inner side of bifid primary cusp, with another two outer denticles. Next several laterals lacking inner triangular denticle but possessing two denticles on outer side of primary bifid cusps. Midlateral teeth ( Fig. 16C View Figure 16 ) all lacking inner denticles but having two or three sharply pointed, triangular outer denticles. Outermost teeth having a narrower base and shorter tooth shape, with three to five rounded outer denticles ( Fig. 16D View Figure 16 ).

Reproductive system: Reproductive organs immature.

Remarks

Hypselodoris juniperae is a member of a clade that includes H. alburtuqali , H. decorata and H. maculosa and is sister to H. maculosa . The ABGD analysis indicates that H. juniperae from the western Indian Ocean is distinct from H. maculosa from the western Pacific and they are 6.5–7.2% divergent in their COI gene, whereas the two western Pacific H. maculosa are 2.7% divergent from each other. The colour pattern of H. juniperae is similar to that of H. maculosa , but differs in having white spots arranged in lines rather than thin continuous lines ( Bidgrain, 2005; Ogden, 2005; Houben, 2007; present study).

There appear to be fewer mantle glands in H. juniperae than in H. maculosa ( Gosliner & Johnson, 1999: fig. 29D; present study). The jaw rodlets of H. juniperae have a shorter cusp than do those of H. maculosa ( Figs 11B View Figure 11 , 16A View Figure 16 ; Rudman, 1986: fig. 16E). The radula of H. juniperae is much narrower than that of H. maculosa , with only 19 teeth per half row as compared with 28–51 teeth per half row in H. maculosa ( Rudman, 1986) . The inner lateral teeth of H. maculosa have two or three denticles on the inner side of the bifid cusps and an additional two denticles on the outer side of the cusps ( Fig. 11D View Figure 11 ; Rudman, 1986: fig. 16A, B), whereas in H. juniperae there is only a single inner denticle and one or two outer ones ( Fig. 16B View Figure 16 ). The reproductive systems cannot be compared owing to the immaturity of the single specimen of H. juniperae .