Acrochordonoposthia

Noreña, Carolina, Eitam, Avi & Blaustein, Leon, 2008, “ Microturbellarian ” flatworms (Platyhelminthes) from freshwater pools: New species and records from Israel, Zootaxa 1705, pp. 1-20 : 17-18

Acrochordonoposthia sp.

Locality. Temporary pools on Mount Kavul and Mount Shekhanya, Lower Galilee.

Acrochordonoposthia sp. was collected in medium-sized temporary pools in Israel during the winter (January 2002), and disappeared with the beginning of spring and the seasonal rise in temperature.

Material. Two specimens. Live observations, squash preparations, photographs.

Description. Very mobile body, elongated and narrow. Length 0.7 – 1 mm, width 0.15 – 0.20 mm. Posterior end rounded, motor and semirigid cilia present. Rhabdite-tracts weakly developed. Dermal rhabdites not recognized. Posterior end with mucus (adhesive or sticky) glands. Pharynx in the first third of the body. Colour transparent or colourless, but with numerous yellow or orange oil drops at the posterior end and irregular dark pigmentation at the anterior end. The two excretion pores open in the last third of the body, just in front of the reproductive organs.

Copulatory organ and bursa are located together. The copulatory organ is pear-shaped. Testes spherical, opening laterally in the medial part of the male organ. Unfortunately, the studied individuals were not completely matured, and thus cirrus, penis papillae and female reproductive organs were not observable; therefore, an exact identification of the specimens is not possible. However, these specimens show some clear differences from similar species of the genus Acrochordonoposthia ( Acrochordonoposthia conica Reisinger, 1924 and A. apopera Reisinger, 1924 ): the presence of pigmentation patches (possibly eye spots) at the anterior end and well-developed glands in the posterior end.

The genus Acrochordonoposthia is mainly known from Europe, only one ( Acrochordonoposthia conica Reisinger, 1925 ) of the 8 known species of the genus was also found outside of Europe ( Greenland, Nearctic region; Steinböck, 1932).