Acanthomacrostomum spiculiferum Papi & Swedmark, 1959

Schockaert, Ernest R., 2014, Marine Macrostomorpha (Platyhelminthes, Rhabditophora) from the Algarve (Southern Portugal), Zootaxa 3872 (5), pp. 577-590 : 581

Acanthomacrostomum spiculiferum Papi & Swedmark, 1959

Fig. 2

Localities in the Algarve. This species was abundantly present in clean, relatively coarse sand, 5–10 m deep, near Sagres, close to the most western cape of Europe (37° 01.156 N, 8° 55.061 W and 37° 02.390 N, 8° 52.436 W; 20 September 2011).

Known distribution. The species is known from its type locality, Pointe de Bloscon, Roscoff, Brittany, France and from Northern Ireland ( Boaden 1966).

Material. Brief live observations, two whole mounts (HU nrs VI.3.20–21).

The animals are rather large, 1.7 and 2.7 mm long and 0.6–0.8 mm wide in the whole mounts. The penis stylets are 62 and 68 µm long (or 53–55 µm when measured in a straight line), the accessory stylets 73 and 76 µm long (or around 70 µm). The middle piece in the hard parts of the female system is about 40 µm long and the mouthpiece is 28 µm long.

Though these animals seem to be larger than the French representatives (around 1 mm), the dimensions of the hard parts are very similar or even slightly smaller than those given by Papi & Swedmark (1959) and by Rieger (1971a, based on the type material): 67–74 µm long for the penis stylet, 80 µm for the accessory stylet, 34 µm for the middle piece and 40 µm for the mouthpiece. Ax (1971) described A. gerlachi from the Maldives with stylets looking like those of A. spiculiferum (but smaller, i.e. both about 50 µm), and with very different female hard parts. Laumer & Giribet (2014) mention a species of Acanthomacrostomum from Eastern Panama without further identification.