Borniopsismortoni sp. n. (Heterodonta, Galeommatoidea, Galeommatidaesensu lato), a new bivalve commensal with a synaptid sea cucumber from Japan
Author
Goto, Ryutaro
Author
Ishikawa, Hiroshi
text
ZooKeys
2016
615
33
45
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.615.8125
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.615.8125
1313-2970-615-33
7967128BEDED4C19A14E680F3109F676
7967128BEDED4C19A14E680F3109F676
Taxon classification Animalia Veneroida Galeommatidae
Borniopsis mortoni
sp. n.
Figs 1, 2, 3, 4
Material examined.
Holotype (Figs 1, 2): UMMZ 305035 (SL 4.1 mm, SH 2.8 mm). Paratype 1 (Fig. 3): UMMZ 305036-1 (SL 3.9 mm, SH 2.7 mm), paratype 2: UMMZ 30536-2 (SL 2.4 mm, SH 1.8 mm), paratype 3: NSMT-Mo 78968 (SL 3.7 mm, SH 2.7 mm) and paratype 4 (Fig. 1B): NSMT-Mo 78969 (SL 3.3 mm, SH 2.3 mm). Non-type specimens: four individuals of
Borniopsis mortoni
(SL 2.4, 3.3, 3.8, 3.3 mm). All specimens were collected in the mud flats at the mouth of the Souzu River, Ainan-cho, Ehime Prefecture, southwestern Shikoku Island, Japan (
32°57'N
,
132°33'E
). Comparative species (Fig. 4):
Borniopsis tsurumaru
, SBMNH 149526;
Borniopsis ariakensis
, SBMNH 35056;
Borniopsis ochetostomae
, SBMNH149525; and
Borniopsis maipoensis
, SBMNH 35126.
Figure 1.
Borniopsis mortoni
and its host. A A crawling individual of
Borniopsis mortoni
. B Right shell valve of Paratype 4 (NSMT Mo 78969) bleached to remove the periostracum for observation of shell surface sculpture C, D
Patinapta ooplax
with multiple individuals of
Borniopsis mortoni
attached E, F
Patinapta ooplax
in situ in mud flats with
Borniopsis mortoni
attached (arrowed). Photo credits: H. Ishikawa:
A-C
, E, F; Y. Hamamura: D. Scale bar: 1 mm.
Figure 2. Holotype of
Borniopsis mortoni
(UMMZ 305035) (SL 4.1 mm). A, C, E Right valve B, D Left valve F, G Hinge structure of left and right valves. Abbreviations: aa, anterior adductor muscle; ac, anterior cardinal tooth; f, foot; gn, gonad; il, internal ligament; lid, inner demibranch of left side; pa, posterior adductor muscle; rid, inner demibranch of right side; st, stomach. Scale bars 1 mm. Photo credits: R. Goto:
A-G
.
Figure 3. Paratype 1 of
Borniopsis mortoni
(UMMZ 305035) (SL 2.4 mm). A, C Right valve B, D Left valve E, F Hinge structure of right and left valves. Abbreviations: ac, anterior cardinal tooth; il, internal ligament. Scale bars 0.5 mm. Photo credits: R. Goto:
A-F
.
Figure 4. A
Borniopsis tsurumaru
(SBMNH 149526) B
Borniopsis ariakensis
(SBMNH 35056) C
Borniopsis ochetostomae
(SBMNH 149525) and D
Borniopsis maipoensis
(SBMNH 35126). Photo credits: R. Goto:
A-C
; P. Valentich-Scott: D. Scale bars 1 mm.
Type locality and habitat.
Mud flats at the mouth of the Souzu River, Ainan-cho, Ehime, southwestern Shikoku Island, Japan (
32°57'N
,
132°33'E
).
Description.
Shell (Figs 1-3): Shell small (up to 4.1 mm), thin, slightly inflated, shape elongate-ovate and equivalve; inequilateral, longer anteriorly. Anterior and posterior margins rounded, ventral margins slightly rounded. Umbo small. Beak small, prosogyrate, situated 2/3 of way toward posterior. Each valve covered by tan to dark brown periostracum with black deposits, often eroded around beaks (Figs 2, 3). Shell surface underneath periostracum smooth and whitish with pearly luster (Fig. 1B).
Sculpture
consisting of fine, dense and a few strong, widely spaced commarginal growth striae visible even on periostracum and very faint dense radial striae only visible underneath periostracum (Fig. 1B). Hinge of each valve consisting of a single stout cardinal tooth in front of umbo and well-developed oblique internal ligament posterior to umbo (Figs 2F, G; 3E, F). Soft parts (Figs 1, 2): Mantle not reflected,
without
prominent tentacles, edges narrowly extend beyond margin of shell, with numerous short papillae regularly arranged. Both anterior and posterior adductor muscles elongate-ovate, subequal and situated in the middle of dorsal and ventral margin. Ctenidia with gill axis nearly vertical, flat, consisting of single demibranch with both ascending and descending lamellae, joined anteriorly to inner and outer
labial
palps. Labial palps leaf-shaped. Foot slender, of moderate size, with small heel; byssal glands located just in front of heel. Gonads situated from middle to posterior in visceral mass just below umbo. Stomach and digestive gland large, occupying anterior part of visceral mass.
Distribution.
Only known from the type locality.
Host.
Patinapta ooplax
(
Echinodermata
:
Holothuroidea
:
Apodida
:
Synaptidae
) (Fig. 1
C-F
).
Host association.
Borniopsis mortoni
attaches to the body surface of
Patinapta ooplax
by both its foot and byssal threads (Fig. 1
C-F
). Individuals were patchily distributed in the mud flats. Within the particular patches we sampled, approximately 70% of synaptids served as hosts for
Borniopsis mortoni
. Several
Borniopsis mortoni
often occured on one the same host. At the maximum, more than 10 individuals were attached to a single host. Two
Patinapta
ooplax
infested by
Borniopsis mortoni
also harbored the endoparasitic eulimid gastropod
Hypermastus lacteus
(A. Adams, 1864).
Etymology.
The specific name is dedicated to Dr. Brian Morton who has made great contributions to marine biology, marine ecology and malacology. He discovered many interesting commensal galeommatoidean species from Hong Kong, some of which now belong to the genus
Borniopsis
.
Remarks.
The genus
Borniopsis
has been variously assigned to the
Kelliidae
(
Morton and Scott 1989
),
Lasaeidae
(
Bieler et al. 2010
), and the subfamily
Montacutinae
within
Galeommatidae
sensu lato (
Huber 2015
). However, these family- or subfamily-level groupings are ill-defined when a range of characters and taxa are considered (
Ponder 1998
). Indeed, the molecular analyses conducted by
Goto et al. (2012)
showed that each of these groups is actually polyphyletic. In this study, we assigned the genus
Borniopsis
tentatively to
Galeommatidae
sensu lato, which
Ponder (1998)
defined by the same diagnosis that was applied to the superfamily
Galeommatoidea
, as did
Huber (2015)
. Further taxonomic assignment of this genus within
Galeommatoidea
(or
Galeommatidae
sensu lato) should be delayed until its family-level (or subfamily-level) classification is revised.
As with
Borniopsis mortoni
, both
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
have a symbiotic relationship with synaptid sea cucumbers (
Morton 1988
,
Morton and Scott 1989
,
Luetzen
et al. 2004
,
Kai and Henmi 2008
). However, the particular host species differ between them -
Patinapta ooplax
(host solely for
Borniopsis mortoni
) and
Protankyra bidentata
(Woodward & Barrett, 1858) (host for both
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
) (
Morton and Scott 1989
,
Luetzen
et al. 2004
).
Borniopsis mortoni
always attaches directly onto the body surface of the host (this study), whereas
Borniopsis tsurumaru
can attach to the body surface of the host, or the wall of the
host's
burrow, or to the carapace of commensal crabs living in the same burrows (
Morton 1988
,
Morton and Scott 1989
,
Luetzen
et al. 2004
,
Kai and Henmi 2008
,
Goto et al. 2012
). Furthermore, the number of bivalves per host is much higher in
Borniopsis mortoni
(several to more than 10) than
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
(usually one) (
Luetzen
et al. 2004
, Goto, Ishikawa, and Hamamura, personal observations).
The shells of
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
are much larger (up to 11-12 mm in SL) than those of
Borniopsis mortoni
(up to 4.1 mm) (
Morton and Scott 1989
) (Fig. 4A, B). Probably, this corresponds with the size of the host because
Protankyra bidentata
is much larger than
Patinapta ooplax
. The shells of
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
are thicker and more inflated than those of
Borniopsis mortoni
(
Luetzen
et al. 2004
; this study). In addition, the shells of
Borniopsis mortoni
are always covered by a dark brown periostracum, whereas those of
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
are often whitish, although some are dark brown. The umbones of
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
are more protruding than those of
Borniopsis mortoni
(Fig. 4A, B). A molecular analysis is needed to understand whether these three synaptid-associated species are monophyletic or not. In addition, morphological variation of
Borniopsis tsurumaru
and
Borniopsis ariakensis
is apparently continuous (Goto, Ishikawa and Hamamura, pers. obs.) so molecular testing should be employed to investigate whether they can be distinguished genetically or not.
The
present new species also closely resembles
Borniopsis ochetostomae
and
Borniopsis maipoensis
in having an elongate ovate shell covered by a brownish periostracum (Fig. 4C, D). However,
Borniopsis ochetostomae
is much larger (up to 11 mm) than
Borniopsis mortoni
and its beak is located more centrally than that of
Borniopsis mortoni
(
Morton and Scott 1989
,
Jespersen et al. 2002
, this study) (Fig. 4C). On the other hand,
Borniopsis maipoensis
is rather smaller (up to 3 mm) and more rounded than
Borniopsis mortoni
(
Morton and Scott 1989
, this study) (Fig. 4D). In addition,
Borniopsis maipoensis
has two distinct papillae on the dorsal surface of the foot (
Morton and Scott 1989
), whereas we did not observe such papillae on
Borniopsis mortoni
(Fig. 1A). And lastly, the hosts for these three species are different -
Borniopsis mortoni
(holothurian hosts),
Borniopsis ochetostomae
(echiuran hosts) and
Borniopsis maipoensis
(probably tanaid hosts) (
Morton and Scott 1989
, this study).