Phyllodesmium iriomotense Baba, 1991

Elizabeth Moore & Terrence Gosliner, 2014, Additions to the Genus Phyllodesmium, with a Phylogenetic Analysis and its Implications to the Evolution of Symbiosis, The Veliger 51 (4), pp. 237-251 : 245

Phyllodesmium iriomotense Baba, 1991

( Figure 3)

Material examined

One specimen, CASIZ 84878 , 59 m depth, Seragaki Beach 1.3 km ENE of Maeki-zaki, Okinawa, Japan, 16 October 1991, R. F. Bolland .

Geographic range

This species is known only from its type locality Okinawa, Japan (Baba, 1991 b).

Further description

Although Baba created very detailed drawings of P. iriomotense , he did not include any data about the reproductive system of this species (Baba, 1991 b: figs. 6,7).

Description

Reproductive system ( Figure 3): The specimen was mature, with well-developed female glands consisting mostly of mucous gland. The albumen and membrane glands were completely developed but smaller in comparison. A large, hook-shaped ampulla branches to the oviduct and the prostatic portion of the vas deferens. The oviduct joins a small, nodulose receptaculum seminis, and a second duct extends from the base of the receptaculum to join the albumen gland. The second branch of the ampulla connects to the vas deferens with the proximal portion being prostatic. The prostate is large and slightly convoluted in the distalmost portion, leading to a large, conical-shaped penial bulb. The genital aperture has only one opening for the male and female genital systems.