Glossodoris, Ehrenberg, 1831

Matsuda, Shayle B. & Gosliner, Terrence M., 2018, Glossing over cryptic species: Descriptions of four new species of Glossodoris and three new species of Doriprismatica (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae), Zootaxa 4444 (5), pp. 501-529 : 515-519

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4444.5.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6A536780-96AE-42B0-913E-C05767BC63EC
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5981636
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/140387BF-4876-F00A-0D88-F9CCFE93FC6D
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Glossodoris
status

Treatment

Glossodoris View in CoL sp. cf. cincta ( Bergh 1888)

Figures (2F, 6E, F, 8G–I, 9F–J)

Glossodoris cincta Bergh, 1888 View in CoL ; ( Rudman 1986 in part: 155, figs, 30A).

Glossodoris View in CoL sp. E Matsuda & Gosliner 2017.

Material. Material examined: CASIZ-173394, one specimen, dissected, 17 mm preserved, Madagascar, Iles Radama, West of Nosy Valiha, coll: F. Ramahatragra, 20 October 2005, CAS-WCS Radama Islands, 12–13 meters, orig. fixative Bouin’s solution. This specimen was tissue sampled (foot) for DNA analysis in Johnson & Gosliner (2012) and Matsuda & Gosliner (2017). CASIZ-199204, one specimen, dissected, 21 mm preserved, Philippines, Luzon Island, Batangas Province, Calatagan, Verde Island Passage coast, “Talisay North”, coll: T.M. Gosliner, 18 May 2014, 2014 Verde Island Passage Expedition, orig. fixative 95% EtOH. This specimen was tissue sampled (foot) for DNA analysis in Matsuda & Gosliner (2017). CASIZ-177257, one specimen 35mm preserved, Philippines, Batangas Province, Maricaban Island, Caban Island, Layag Layag, coll: T.M. Gosliner, A. Valdes, M. Pola, L. Witzel, B. Moore, A. Alejandrino, 16 Mar 2008, Philippines Expedition March 2008, 14.2 meters, orig. fixative 95% EtOH. This specimen was tissue sampled (foot) for DNA analysis in Matsuda & Gosliner (2017). CASIZ- 120737 A, two specimens (A) 12 mm preserved (B) 10 mm preserved, Pacific Ocean, Marshall Islands, Enewetak Atoll, Cement Ship Pinnacle, on dead coral, coll: L. Boucher, 18 Jun 1981, 6-10 meters, orig. fixative 75% EtOH. This specimen was tissue sampled (foot) for DNA analysis in Matsuda & Gosliner (2017). CASIZ- 199187, one specimen 19mm preserved, Philippines, Luzon Island, Batangas Province, Calatagan, Verde Island Passage Coast, Caritunan Reef, coll: S. Cohen, 10 May 2014, orig. fixative 95% EtOH. This specimen was tissue sampled (foot) for DNA analysis in Matsuda & Gosliner (2017).

Distribution. The Philippines to Papua New Guinea, and Madagascar.

External morphology. Glossodoris sp. cf. cincta has an elongated mantle that sits high on the sides of the body above the foot ( Figs. 6E, F View FIGURE 6 ). The body is a brick-rust color with white spots that are more concentrated towards the outer edge. Some specimens exhibit a slight yellow hue on the mantle. The mantle edge is a series of small to medium sized permanent and semi-permanent undulations, which include the large central fold on both sides of the mantle midway between the gill and rhinophores. The mantle edge and foot are surrounded by three vividly colored marginal bands: the outermost is thread-thin and light (almost white) blue, the middle ranges from light to dark blue, and the inner a bold yellow ( Fig. 2F View FIGURE 2 ). The bands on the foot are paler, and the outer two bands are much thinner leaving the inner yellow band more visually dominant. The gill is located on the posterior third of the body and forms a semicircle around the anus with the ends spiraling inward and opening posteriorly. The lamellae are the same color as the body and the tips (unifid with some bifid) are outlined in dark blue and are smaller in size at the ends of the arc. In the Madagascar specimen, a single tri-tipped lamella is present between the anus and the top of the arc that is not present in the Pacific specimens. The rhinophores match the coloration of the body at the base and fade to yellow and then blue at the tip. There is a white line that runs down the front of each rhinophore. The genital pore opens on the right side of the body under the mantle and behind the rhinophores.

Internal anatomy. Radular structure ( Figs. 9F–J View FIGURE 9 ). The muscular portion of the buccal mass is about the same size and the glandular portion of the oral tube ( Fig. 8H View FIGURE 8 ). The radular ribbon is long and wide ( Fig. 9I View FIGURE 9 ) (17 mm specimen 102 x 50.1. 50, 21 mm specimen 124 x 75.1.75). The rachidian tooth ( Fig. 9F View FIGURE 9 ) is approximately twothirds the length of the first inner lateral and is slightly rounded with a bulbous area below the apex before coming to an acute point at the apex. The first inner lateral tooth has a long central cusp with 5–6 well defined small denticles on both sides. The inner edge also has a thick ridge. The denticles on the first lateral of the Madagascar specimen are more well defined. The inner lateral teeth have a longer central cusp and only denticles on the outer edge (10–12), and a peen. The central cusp on the mid-laterals ( Fig. 9G View FIGURE 9 ) is longer and although has poorly defined denticles on the outer edge. Specimens from the Philippines and Papua New Guinea have smooth outer laterals with reduced central cusp and peen. The outer laterals ( Fig. 9H View FIGURE 9 ) of the Madagascar specimen have reduced but denticles all the way to the outer edge. The jaws are unicuspid, long, and curved ( Fig. 9I View FIGURE 9 ) in specimens from all localities studied.

Reproductive system ( Fig. 8G, I View FIGURE 8 ). The reproductive systems of both the Madagascar specimen and the Philippines specimen are similar. The vagina is of short to medium length and the receptaculum seminis sac and bursa copulatrix are similar in size. The penial bulb is relatively long and convoluted, as are the muscular vas deferens and prostate gland.

Remarks. Glossodoris sp. cf. cincta is similar to Rudman’s (1986) North Australia color group and to the animal depicted in fig. 30A, however the yellow tinge he reports as missing, is present in some of the Philippines specimens ( Matsuda & Gosliner 2017). The innermost yellow line is clearly visible, followed by a dark blue (Rudman’s black) line and a white to light blue line (Rudman’s translucent). In Rudman’s account and in the specimens in this study, the dark yellow and dark blue lines are not present on the foot, instead only the outermost band appears, a trait that appears to separate G. sp. cf. cincta from the others in the species complex.

The Philippines specimens of G. sp. cf. cincta have faint inner denticles on first inner lateral, which is similar to G. acosti , although in the later the denticles are more clearly defined. Rudman’s (1986) N. Australian color group also lacks inner denticles on the inner lateral. Unlike the other Madagascar specimens of G. bonwanga , which have faint denticles on the outer laterals, the G. sp. cf. cincta specimen from Madagascar has well defined denticles all the way to the outer edge. The degree of variation of these radular characters needs to be assessed more fully with larger populations of all species across a broad geographical range.

The ABGD analysis clearly shows that the specimens here called G. sp. cf. cincta all represent a single species distinct from the other members of the G. cincta clade studied here ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). The p-distances reported by Matsuda & Gosliner (2017) within G. sp. cf. cincta are <1% between the Philippines and Australian specimens, and ±4% when including the Madagascar specimen ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). The p-distances separating G. sp. cf. cincta from G. bonwanga , G. andersonae , and G. acosti are 7–10% ( Matsuda & Gosliner 2017).

The doubt as to whether this species represents the true Glossodoris cincta stems from the fact that the type locality for G. cincta is Mauritius. It is important to note that we were unable to obtain specimens of G. cincta from Mauritius (type locality). We noted that none of the color patterns of any of the cryptic and pseudocryptic species in the Glossodoris cincta species complex studied here matched the original plate figured by Bergh (1888: pl.77, fig. g) (reproduced in Fig. 10B View FIGURE 10 ) exactly. The figure depicts an orange and cream-colored mantle and foot that both are surrounded by colored bands (blue and white). However, we obtained photographs of what is currently being referred to as “ Glossodoris cf. cincta ” from Mauritius ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ), and there is an uncanny resemblance to Bergh’s illustration. We therefore think there is a high probability that the species we have retained the name “ Glossodoris sp. cf. cincta ” for currently, is something else. The collection of specimens of G. cincta from Mauritius for molecular and morphological analyses is imperative for further resolving the systematics of the Glossodoris cincta species complex.