Hubrechtella Bergendal, 1902

Kajihara, Hiroshi, 2006, Four palaeonemerteans (Nemertea: Anopla) from a tidal flat in middle Honshu, Japan, Zootaxa 1163, pp. 1-47 : 27-28

Genus Hubrechtella Bergendal, 1902

Hubrechtella Bergendal, 1902b: 9 .

Coeia Takakura, 1922: 422 syn. nov.

Type species Hubrechtella dubia Bergendal, 1902 , by monotypic designation.

Diagnosis As given by Gibson (1979a).

Systematic remarks

The genus Coeia Takakura, 1922 is here considered a subjective junior synonym of Hubrechtella Bergendal, 1902 . Both genera were recently transferred from Hubrechtidae Bürger, 1892 to a new family, Hubrechtellidae, by Chernyshev (2003). Up until Takakura (1922) established the monotypic genus Coeia , the family Hubrechtidae had contained two genera, Hubrechtia Bürger, 1892 and Hubrechtella Bergendal, 1902 . However, judging from Takakura’s (1922) statement that the family contained a single genus, Hubrechtia, Takakura was apparently unaware of Hubrechtella when he erected Coeia .

Takakura (1922) used the following criteria to define Coeia : 1) no excretory system, 2) no inner circular muscle layer, 3) no eyes, 4) shallow lateral intestinal diverticula, and 5) a ‘tail’ region, which lacks both intestine and gonads. The first three characters fully agree with the generic diagnosis of Hubrechtella . The fourth character state can be formed by the serial arrangement of gonads, which are situated medially and associated with the intestinal wall; this character might vary intraspecifically, depending upon degree of maturity. The last character, which Takakura (1922) pointed out is similar to the caudal cirrus found in certain heteronemerteans, is known in juveniles of Hubrechtella dubia ( Cantell 1969) ; the presence of the ‘tail’ in adult Coeia ijimai can be interpreted as a heterochronic retention of this character.