Leptoplanella californica ( Woodworth, 1894 )

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 : 21

Leptoplanella californica ( Woodworth, 1894)

Stylochoplana californica Woodworth, 1894: 50 , figs 1–2 (type locality: Gulf of California Mexico (26°48′0″ N, 110°45′22″ W).

Parviplana californica – Hyman 1953a: 314 (new combination and new record from California). – Faubel 1984a: 165–167 (identification keys).

Distribution

La Paz Bay, Baja California Sur, and pelagic environment in the Gulf of California and off the coast of Sinaloa, Mexico.

Habitat

Pelagic obligate.

Remarks

Due to the presence of the species in the pelagic habitat, Woodworth (1984) and Faubel (1984a) determined Leptoplanella californica as a pelagic obligate species. Woodworth (1894) originally described the species as Stylochoplana californica , based on immature organisms, characterizing the external morphology of the body and scarcely the internal morphology of the species; Woodworth described a cuneiform body, the presence of nuchal tentacles, a short penis papilla and a bursa copulatrix (= Lang’s vesicle). Subsequently, Hyman (1953a) made a redescription of the species and reassigned it to the genus Parviplana as Parviplana californica , based on the length of the body, the arrangement of the eyes and the external morphology of the reproductive complex. Subsequently, Faubel (1984b) reassigned the species to the genus Leptoplanella , and made a complete redescription of the external and internal morphology of the male and female reproductive systems, in which he determined the presence of a penis papilla armed with a sclerotized and conspicuous stipe, as well as the seminal vesicle.