Apata pricei komandorica, Korshunova, Tatiana, Martynov, Alexander, Bakken, Torkild, Evertsen, Jussi, Fletcher, Karin, Mudianta, I Wayan, Saito, Hiroshi, Lundin, Kennet, Michael Schroedl, & Picton, Bernard, 2017

Korshunova, Tatiana, Martynov, Alexander, Bakken, Torkild, Evertsen, Jussi, Fletcher, Karin, Mudianta, I Wayan, Saito, Hiroshi, Lundin, Kennet, Michael Schroedl, & Picton, Bernard, 2017, Polyphyly of the traditional family Flabellinidae affects a major group of Nudibranchia: aeolidacean taxonomic reassessment with descriptions of several new families, genera, and species (Mollusca, Gastropoda), ZooKeys 717, pp. 1-139 : 61-62

Apata pricei komandorica subsp. n. Fig. 48

Type material.

Holotype, ZMMU Op-533, 8 mm long (fixed), North West Pacific, Commander Islands, 13.08.2014, 55°12.2182'N 165°55.4992'E, depth 19.5 m, coll. N.P. Sanamyan. Two paratypes, ZMMU Op-599, 7 mm long, same locality and date as holotype.

Type locality.

North West Pacific, Commander Islands.

Etymology.

After the Commander Islands in the NW Pacific (after original Russian spelling Komandorskie Islands), type locality of the subspecies.

Diagnosis.

Completely reduced notal edge, comb-like ceratal rows, background colour whitish, digestive gland in cerata greenish at the base and brownish-reddish toward ceratal top, subapical parts of cerata with white pigment, apical parts of cerata without white pigment, rachidian tooth with up to seven distinct denticles, adpressed to central cusp, lateral teeth smooth, penis conical.

Description.

External morphology (Fig. 48 A–D). Body narrow. Foot and tail narrow, anterior foot corners short. Rhinophores similar in length to oral tentacles, bear up to 15 annulations. Dorsal cerata finger-shaped to fusiform, forming up to ten comb-shaped rows on dorsal side. Apices of cerata gradually pointed, with elongate cnidosac. Distinct notal edge remains mostly below cerata clusters. Digestive gland diverticulum fills significant volume of the cerata. Anal opening almost acleioproctic ("pleuroproctic in higher acleioproctic position") on right side between six and seven ceratal rows. Reproductive openings lateral, below first anterior cluster of cerata.

Colour (Fig. 48A, C). Background colour whitish and translucent. Digestive gland diverticula greenish at base and first half and light brownish-dark reddish toward top of cerata. Rhinophores oral tentacles, and subapical parts of cerata covered dorsally with white pigment. Apical parts of cerata translucent.

Jaws (Fig. 48E, F). Masticatory process more than one-third as long as jaw body. Edge of masticatory processes bears ca. 30 broad flattened denticles that form a main single row of denticles on the body of the masticatory processes.

Radula (Fig. 48G). Radula formula: 20 × 1.1.1 (8 mm). Rachidian tooth elongate-triangular with short narrow cusp of less than 1/3 of tooth length (Fig. 48G). Rachidian tooth bears between five and seven well-defined separated long lateral denticles considerably adpressed towards cusp. Cusp considerably adpressed by adjacent first lateral denticles. Lateral teeth (Fig. 48G) completely smooth, form long narrow curved plate with innermost pointed strong denticle.

Reproductive system (Fig. 48H). Diaulic. Hermaphroditic duct leads to compact ampulla. Vas deferens is long, looped, no distinct prostate, but distal part considerably enlarged. Penial sheath narrow. Penis narrow conical. Oviduct connects through insemination duct into female gland complex. Vagina short and indistinct. Proximal receptaculum seminis oval, swollen. Distal receptacle present, rounded, on a very long convoluted duct, which is expanded distally.

Ecology.

Intertidal to 20-30 m, stony and soft bottom.

Distribution.

NW Pacific, Commander Islands, Middle Kurile Islands.

Remarks.

The type locality of Apata pricei (MacFarland, 1966) is California. According to the present phylogenetic analysis at least two species can be clearly separated among " Apata pricei " in Californian waters (Fig. 1): both are molecularly distinct from our material from Commander Islands using the COI molecular marker, although to different degrees. One species is highly divergent at 12.98%, and the other one is closer but still different (1.83%) from the Commander Islands specimens. The Commander Islands specimens are therefore recognised as a separate subspecies Apata pricei komandorica subsp. n. Morphological differences of the new subspecies are the fewer number of ceratal rows (up to ten) compared to the original description of A. pricei pricei from California by MacFarland (1966) (up to at least 12 ceratal rows). We cannot definitively evaluate the taxonomic placement of A. cf. pricei (CAS 114776) according to the original description of MacFarland (1966) due to the lack of the morphlogical description for this specimen in Cella et al. (2016). Further study on the Apata pricei complex is necessary to clarify its species composition in the Eastern Pacific.