Maritigrella fuscopunctat

Newman, Leslie J., 2000, A new genus of euryleptid ¯ atworm (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida) from the Indo-Paci ® c, Journal of Natural History 34, pp. 191-205 : 195-197

Maritigrella fuscopunctat a ( Prudhoe, 1977) comb. nov.

(®gures 6±8, 22)

Pseudoceros fuscopunctatus Prudhoe, 1977: 594 ±597, ®gures 4a±c; 5a±c

Eurylepta fuscopunctatus: Gosliner, Behrens and Williams, 1996: 98 , ®gure 322

Material examined

Regrettably the types appear lost, viz. HOLOTYPE: lost, Australian Museum W. 5242, 22 November 1972, Broome , Western Australia. PARATYPE: lost, Australian Museum W. 5435, same data .

Other material. G2110084, WM, 29 August 1989, under rubble, reef crest, Heron Is., southern GBR; G211083, WM; G211081, WM, 20 June 1991, damaged; G211082, WM, 27 January 1992, 12 m, reef slope, Wistari Reef, o Heron Is.; G211093, LS, 9 August 1995, 15 m, reef slope, Old Shark Pt., Thilafalhu Atoll, N. Male Â, C. Anderson and S. Buttress .

Records. CT, October 1989, Flores, Indonesia, C. Anderson; CT, November 1990, Solitary Is., o Co ’s Harbour, northern New South Wales , B. Rudman; CT, 12 October 1994, South Male  Atoll, The Republic of the Maldives, C. Anderson .

D escription

Small worms. Background cream-white with large purple-black spots in transverse rows, black spots surrounded by purple-violet (®gures 6, 22). Medial orange spots in a honeycomb pattern. Margin and marginal tentacles with smaller black spots. Ventral surface same pattern without orange spots. Sucker mid-body (®gure 7). Size range: 5Ö 3 mm (immature) to 22Ö 12 mm (mature).

Seminal vesicle small, oval (370 m m long); ejaculatory duct wide; prostate large, oval (430 m m long); prostatic duct extremely long, wide; stylet small (100 m m long Ö 35 m m wide), length 5 width ratio= 1 5 2.9 (®gure 8).

D iagnosis Cream-white with black-purple spots in transverse rows, orange spots medially.

Remarks

It is surprising that Prudhoe described this species as a pseudocerotid, but it provides a good example of how these animals were confused with Pseudoceros species. Prudhoe (1977) clearly drew a tubular pharynx (p. 595, ®gure 4a) and described it as,`an elongate muscular structure ... showing little evidence of plication’. He was presumably unduly inūenced by the general body form and particularly the colour pattern which he described as,`pearl white with transverse languettes of black along the margin, margin with broad band of irregular brown or golden spots’. GBR specimens he said showed a distinct purple colour with the languettes of black. Prudhoe (1977) described his new species from only immature specimens. We are con®dent, however, that our specimens clearly can be assigned to this species.

D istribution

Common from reef crest at Heron and Wistari reefs, southern GBR. Records: Western Australia; Co ’s Harbour, northern New South Wales; Male  Atoll, The Republic of the Maldives and Flores, Indonesia and Micronesia ( Gosliner et al., 1996).