Euplana claridade, Cuadrado & Rodríguez & Moro & Grande & Noreña, 2021

Cuadrado, Daniel, Rodríguez, Jorge, Moro, Leopoldo, Grande, Cristina & Noreña, Carolina, 2021, Polycladida (Platyhelminthes, Rhabditophora) from Cape Verde and related regions of Macaronesia, European Journal of Taxonomy 736, pp. 1-43 : 20-22

Euplana claridade sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C7E211FD-32AF-4FA4-A3EB-ACA1737DF2EE

Figs 1C , 4 D–H

Etymology

The name of the new species, Euplana claridade , comes from “Claridade”, a journal of literary review that revolutionized Cape Verdean culture during the first half of the twentieth century.

Material examined

Holotype CAPE VERDE • São Vicente Island , Mindelo ; 16°53′46.54″ N, 24°59′32.93″ W ( Fig. 1C V1 ); 23 Nov. 2017; Leopoldo Moro leg.; MNCN 4.01/2709 to 2718 (10 slides). One sagittally sectioned specimen stained with AZAN.

Description

BODY. Shape oval. Length 1.1 cm. Smooth dorsal surface. Background pigmentation ivory white, denser along the middle dorsal region of the body and in the intestinal braches ( Fig. 4D ). Two clusters of 16 cerebral eyes each ( Fig. 4E ). Ruffled pharynx. Male and female genital pores located in the second half of the body close behind the posterior end of the pharynx.

MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Male copulatory organ backwards oriented, englobed in a muscular bulb with a small penis papilla. Vas deferens opens proximally into the ejaculatory duct ( Fig. 4 F–H). Without prostatic or seminal vesicle. Male atrium deep and thickened in the point of union with the penis ( Fig. 4 F–H).

FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Rounded female atrium ( Fig. 4 F–H). Vagina backwards oriented, surrounded by muscular fibres. Without Lang´s vesicle.

Remarks

Euplana claridade sp. nov. belongs to the genus Euplana due to the absence of tentacles, prostatic vesicle and Lang´s vesicle, and presence of a true seminal vesicle and elongated coiling ejaculatory duct.

The genus Euplana encompasses 3 species, E. carolinensis Hyman, 1940 , E. gracilis Girard, 1853 and E. hymanae Marcus, 1947 . The three species can be differentiated through the eyes number and disposition of them. E. gracilis and E. carolinensis present four cluster of eyes, two cerebral and two tentacular; E. hymanae and E. claridade sp. nov. only show two groups of cerebral eyes.

Within the reproductive system another differences can have founded, E. gracilis and E. hymanae present a small, short male atrium and a backwards oriented vagina externa, while E. carolinensis and E. claridade sp. nov. share a long tubular male atriumand a forward directed vagina externa.

Both species differ mainly in the male copulatory organ. The ejaculatory duct in E. carolinensis is wide and straight and by E. claridade sp. nov. is narrow and sinuous. Furthermore, the penis papilla is very short in E. carolinensis , while in E. claridade sp. nov. it is longer in comparison. On the other hand, the seminal vesicle is practically non-existent in E. claridade sp. nov., represented by the confluence of the two vasa deferentia, while in E. carolinensis it is a well-developed seminal vesicle, surrounded by circular muscles and in which the vas deferens empties proximally.

Figures

Fig. 1. Location of sampling points, distribution of the Macaronesian archipelagos and limitation of regions: Lauri-Macaronesia or Lusitanian Macaronesia (white); Central Macaronesia or Eumacaronesia (bordeaux) and Great Macaronesia (green). Abbreviations:A1 = San Miguel Island, Azores; C1 = Pasito Blanco, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands; C2 = Tenerife, Canary Islands; C3 = Garachico, Tenerife, Canary Islands; C4 = Amarilla Golf, Tenerife, Canary Islands; CV1 = Astillero Mindelo, S„o Vicente Island, Cape Verde; CV2 = Bahía das Gatas, S„o Vicente Island, Cape Verde; CV3 = Calheta Funda, Sal Island, Cape Verde; M1 = Ifni, South Morocco; M2 = Agadir, South Morocco.

Fig. 4. A–C. Parviplana sodade sp. nov. (MNCN 4.01/2699 to 2708). A. Whole live animal, dorsal view. B. Anterior region with eyes cluster and tentacles (white arrows). C. Histological cross sections of male and female copulatory organ stained with AZAN and sagittal reconstruction of the reproductive system. – D–H. Euplana claridade sp. nov. (MNCN 4.01/2709 to 2718). D. Whole live animal, dorsal view. E. Anterior region with cerebral eyes cluster and tentacles (white arrows). F. Histological section of female copulatory organ stained with AZAN. G. Histological section of male copulatory organ stained with AZAN. H. Sagittal reconstruction of reproductive system. Abbreviations: see Material and methods.