Baeolidia occidentalis ( Bergh, 1874 )

Carmona, Leila, Pola, Marta, Gosliner, Terrence M. & Cervera, Juan Lucas, 2014, Review of Baeolidia, the largest genus of Aeolidiidae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia), with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 3802 (4), pp. 477-514 : 485-486

Baeolidia occidentalis ( Bergh, 1874)

Aeolidiella occidentalis Bergh, 1874: 397 , pl. VIII, Figs. 9 –19. Spurilla occidentalis ( Bergh, 1874) : Labbé 1930, 623.

Type locality. The Antilles, not very far from Saint Thomas.

Type material. According to Bergh (1874), the material was deposited in the Museum of Copenhagen. The registration number of the holotype of Baeolidia occidentalis is ZMUC-GAS 2042. Geographical distribution. So far, this species is only known from the Antilles ( Bergh, 1874). External and internal morphology. Not completely described by Bergh (1874). No specimens available for the present study.

Remarks. Bergh (1874) described this species, Aeolidiella occidentalis , based on three specimens. Since they were already preserved and in a bad state of conservation, Bergh (1874) did not describe the colouration of the living animal. The radular teeth, the morphology of the cerata and the oral glands described by Bergh (1874) seem to associate this “species” with the genus Baeolidia . Although Bergh’s original description does not allow identifying this “species”, B. occidentalis have been reported in some contributions about Sargassum and its ecological aspects (e.g. Adams 1960; Thiel & Gutow 2005). However, none of these contributions provided a detailed description of this “species” or of the specimen identified as B. occidentalis . The lack of any singular morphological feature in this species leads us to conclude that Baeolidia occidentalis should be treated as nomen dubium.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Reproductive system. (A) Baeolidia salaamica, specimen from Japan (CASIZ 184525); (B) Baeolidia rieae sp. nov., specimen from Japan (CASIZ 184525); (C) Baeolidia variabilis sp. nov., specimen from the Philippines (CASIZ 177715); (D) Baeolidia lunaris sp. nov., specimen from Tanzania (CASIZ 099221). Scale bars: A – D, 0.5 mm. Abbreviations: am, ampulla; fgm, female gland mass; ps, penial sac; rs, receptaculum seminis; va, vagina; vd, vas deferens.