Cerebratulus cf. lineolatus Coe, 1905

Mendes, Cecili B., Matthews-Cascon, Helena & Norenburg, Jon L., 2016, New records of ribbon worms (Nemertea) from Ceará, Northeast Brazil, Zootaxa 4061 (2), pp. 146-156 : 151-152

Cerebratulus cf. lineolatus Coe, 1905

( Figure 2 [4])

Cerebratulus lineolatus Coe, 1905: 196 , pl. 4, fig. 44; Coe, 1940: 275; MacGinitie & MacGinitie, 1949: 163, textfig. 44; Corrêa, 1961: 14; Gibson, 1995: 337.

Material examined. One specimen (115 mm, after preservation), MZUSP 0 0 0 13, Brazil, Ceará, Paracuru, Praia da Pedra Rachada, 3°23.95' S 39°0.85' W, under rock, on sand, coll. Cecili Mendes, 28.VIII.2011.

One specimen (39 mm, after preservation), MZUSP 0 0 0 14, Brazil, Ceará, Caucaia, Praia do Pacheco, 3°41.11' S 38°37.91' W, under rock, coll. Cecili Mendes, 18.VI.2011.

Two specimens (30 mm, 73 mm, after preservation), MZUSP 0 0 0 15, Brazil, Ceará, Paracuru, Pedra Rachada beach, 3°23.95' S 39°0.85' W, under rock, on sand, coll. Cecili Mendes, 20.VIII.2012.

Field diagnosis. Body beige, with posterior region reddish due to gonads; dorsal and ventral surfaces completely covered by numerous thin, interrupted, brown lines. Cephalic lobe triangular, narrowing to neck-like constriction. Body long and flat ending in short caudal cirrus; latter lost easily during collection. Cerebral ganglia visible as a reddish region in head. No eye spots evident.

Distribution. Western Atlantic: USA (Florida [JLN unpublished obs] and South Carolina [ Fox & Ruppert 1985]) and Brazil (Ceará [present study]).

Eastern Pacific: California ( San Pedro, Newport, San Diego), Mexico (Puerto Refugio, Angel de la Guardia, Punta Willard, Bahia San Luis Gonzaga) ( Coe 1940).

Ecology. This species is reported from intertidal zone to depths of 70 m ( Gibson 1995). They seem to inhabit mud or muddy sand. The specimens here were found on muddy sand under rocks in the lower intertidal zone, sometimes in direct contact with the rock.

Remarks. The species was first described from the North Pacific Ocean, along the southwestern coast of North America, and a morphologically identical form has been reported from the south coast of Florida ( Corrêa 1961; JLN, unpublished obs). No material is available from the Pacific Coast for comparison. Though the described appearance ( Coe 1905; Coe 1940) is convincingly similar, the disjunct geographic and depth distributions provide cause to question the specific identity of the Brazilian (Florida and South Carolina) worms.

Figures

FIGURE 2. (1) Tubulanus rhabdotus Corrêa, 1955, lateral view; (2) Carinomella cf. lactea Coe, 1905: (a) head, dorsal view; (b) posterior end, lateral view; (3) Baseodiscus delineatus (Delle-Chiaje, 1825): dorsal view; (4) Cerebratulus cf. lineolatus Coe, 1905, dorsal view; (5) Cerebratulus sp. 1: (a) dorsal view; (b) posterior end, dorsal view; (6) Cerebratulus sp. 2: (a) whole body, dorsal view; (b) head, ventral view; (7) Lineid sp. 1: (a) head, dorsal view; (b) posterior end, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1, 2 a, 2 b, 6 b and 7 a, 1 mm; 3, 5 a, 5 b and 6 a, 5 mm; 4 and 7 b, 10 mm.