Pseudoceros zebra (Leuckhart, 1828)

Marquina, Daniel, Aguado, M. Teresa & Noreña, Carolina, 2015, New records of Cotylea (Polycladida, Platyhelminthes) from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with remarks on the distribution of the Pseudoceros Lang, 1884 and Pseudobiceros Faubel, 1984 species of the Indo-Pacific Marine Region, Zootaxa 4019 (1), pp. 354-377 : 362

Pseudoceros zebra (Leuckhart, 1828)

( Fig. 6 )

Planaria zebra Leuckart, 1828: 11 .

Pseudoceros zebra Lang, 1884: 544 .

Eurylepta zebra Diesing, 1850: 211 .

Proceros zebra Diesing, 1862: 554 .

Pseudoceros pleurostictus, Bock, 1913: 257 –258.

Material examined. AM W.43982, MI QLD 2348, in transverse sections.

Description. Body is oval, 13 mm long and 6 mm wide. Dorsal colour pattern is black background with a middorsal white stripe, from which transversal white stripes emerge to the body margin; with one orange marginal band. Sucker is at same distance from female pore as female to male pore. Vasa deferentia is empty, entering into the seminal vesicle from behind. Seminal vesicle is small, ovate. Prostatic vesicle is oval, small. Ejaculatory duct is long. Prostatic duct is very short. Penis papilla is armed with a small, conic stylet, housed in a shallow atrium ( Fig. 6 A–C). Female genital complex ( Fig. 6 C) is immature.

Remarks. The original description of Pseudoceros zebra (Leuckhart, 1828) mentions a violaceus-black background, with a mid-dorsal white stripe, transversal white stripes towards the margin, and white transversal stripes that do not reach the mid-dorsal one; additionally one marginal band orange/yellow is present. Given this description, the specimens described by Bock (as Pseudoceros pleurostrictus Bock, 1913 ), those described by Prudhoe (1989), as well as two specimens designated as Pseudoceros zebra and Pseudoceros sp. 4 by Newman & Cannon (2003), together with our specimen can be considered Pseudoceros zebra , although they exhibit differences in the number and width of the white stripes. This disparity within a basic colour pattern is not unique for this species, similar variation has been observed also in Pseudoceros dimidiatus von Graff, 1893 ( Newman & Cannon 2003).

Distribution. Previously found in the Gulf of Naples ( Lang 1884), the Gulf of Suez (Leuckhart 1828), Mauritius ( Newman & Cannon 2003), Mozambique ( Prudhoe 1989), Madagascar ( Bock 1913), and Heron Island, Australia (as Pseudoceros sp.4, Newman & Cannon 2003). First report for Lizard Island.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Pseudoceros zebra (Leuckhart, 1828), AM W. 43982, MI QLD 2348. A – B. Histological sections of the reproductive system; C. Sagittal reconstruction of the reproductive system, anterior to the left. Abbreviations: fp = female pore, ma = male atrium, p = pharynx, pv = prostatic vesicle, s = stylet, su = sucker, sv = seminal vesicle.