Review of Baeolidia, the largest genus of Aeolidiidae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia), with the description of five new species
Author
Carmona, Leila
Author
Pola, Marta
Author
Gosliner, Terrence M.
Author
Cervera, Juan Lucas
text
Zootaxa
2014
3802
4
477
514
journal article
45651
10.11646/zootaxa.3802.4.5
71e8a84e-1a9b-4849-9a09-ec2023643364
1175-5326
249605
4095CA09-8EA4-4941-8286-32E95F0206AE
Baeolidia macleayi
(
Angas, 1864
)
(
Figs. 2
C, 3B, 4C–D, 6B)
Aeolis macleayi
Angas, 1864
: 65
, pl. VI,
Fig. 4
.
Coryphella macleayi
(
Angas, 1864
)
:
Bergh 1878
, 16.
Spurilla macleayi
(
Angas, 1864
)
:
Burn 1969
, 96.
Type
locality.
Port Jackson, New South
Wales
.
Type
material.
To our knowledge no
type
material remains. We designate the specimen
CASIZ
0 71923 (
6 mm
) from Long Reef, North of Sydney, New South
Wales
,
Australia
, as the
neotype
in order to avoid confusion with similar species.
Material examined.
Neotype
:
CASIZ
195247, one specimen, dissected,
6 mm
in length preserved,
Australia
, New South
Wales
, North of Sydney, Long Reef, collected by Terrence M. Gosliner,
17 September 1989
. Other material:
CASIZ
0 71923, two specimens, dissected, 8 and
6 mm
in length preserved,
Australia
, New South
Wales
, North of Sydney, Long Reef, collected by Terrence M. Gosliner,
17 September 1989
.
Geographical distribution.
Originally described from Port Jackson,
Australia
(
Angas 1864
), this species is also known from
New Zealand
(
Burn 1962
,
1969
;
Coleman 2001
;
Miller 2001
;
Burn 2006
; Rudman 2007a).
External morphology
(
Figs. 2
C, 3B): Body fairly short, broad, tapering close to posterior end of foot. Foot corners tentaculiform. Body colour translucent. Some specimens with white and lemon-yellow speckling over dorsum and head. Bright orange mark on pericardium with different intensity; it continues through head and posterior end of foot. Rhinophores ribbed (
Fig. 3
B), shorter than oral tentacles. Proximal two-thirds reddish or brownish. Distal part of rhinophores with lemon-yellow pigment. Oral tentacles translucent, may have white and lemon-yellow spots.
Cerata elongate and slender, or moderately short and bulb-shaped. Cerata translucent, being visible the brownish or bluish ramifications of digestive gland. Cnidosacs white. Cerata with bright lemon-yellow ring subapically. White spots over ceratal surface might form a second ring below the yellow one. Cerata composed of four arches and three rows, leaving a distinct gap between pre and post-pericardial groups. Each group with 3–10 cerata, decreasing in size towards foot. Anus cleioproctic, below second right row. Genital aperture below first right arch.
Anatomy.
Masticatory process smooth (
Fig. 4
C). Radular formula
16 x
0.1.0 (
CASIZ
195247, 6 mm
). Radular teeth bilobed with 30–40 elongate and acutely pointed denticles on either side of central cusp (
Fig. 4
D). Central cusp prominent, elongate. Oral glands spongy, moderately large, delicate, with uniform diameter throughout most of length. Oral glands dorso-laterally to buccal bulb. Salivary glands absent.
Reproductive system diaulic (
Fig. 6
B). Preampullary duct widening into moderately short ampulla. Postampullary duct dividing into oviduct and vas deferens. Vas deferens inserting into wider proximal portion of penial sac with unarmed penial papilla. Receptaculum seminis heart-shaped, short stalk connecting to short oviduct, before latter forms female glands. Vagina ventral to penis.
Remarks.
We transfer
Aeolis macleayi
to
Baeolidia
because of the
type
of oral glands, which are exclusive of this genus in
Aeolidiidae
.
Excluding
Baeolidia faustina
(see
B. faustina
remarks), the colouration and the shape of the cerata distinguish
B. macleayi
from the remaining
Baeolidia
species. Regarding the radular morphology, the teeth found in
B. macleayi
are similar to
B. rieae
sp. nov.
,
B. variabilis
sp. nov.
and
B. gracilis
sp. nov.
Nevertheless, the central cusp of
B. macleayi
is larger than the minute central cusp found in the species mentioned above. Moreover, the shape of the receptaculum seminis is quite different between
B. macleayi
and
B. rieae
sp. nov.
,
B. variabilis
sp. nov.
and
B. gracilis
sp. nov.
: in
B. macleayi
it is heart-shaped; in
B. rieae
sp. nov.
and
B. variabilis
sp. nov.
it is bean-like, and the receptaculum seminis of
B. gracilis
sp. nov.
is ovoid. In addition, it is worth mentioning that
B. macleayi
is a native species from
Australia
and
New Zealand
, whereas
B. rieae
sp. nov.
was found in
Japan
,
B. gracilis
sp. nov.
in the
Philippines
and
B. variabilis
sp. nov.
is from the
Philippines
,
Papua New Guinea
and the
Marshall Islands
.
The oral glands of
B. macleayi
are first described and reported here.