Revision of Phaenocora Ehrenberg, 1836 (Rhabditophora, Typhloplanidae, Phaenocorinae) with the description of two new species
Author
Houben, Albrecht M.
Author
Steenkiste, Niels Van
Author
Artois, Tom J.
text
Zootaxa
2014
3889
3
301
354
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3889.3.1
6de20ad0-680f-4c37-b292-09c548463faa
1175-5326
224901
67896601-F3C6-44F2-A237-78120C8EA5DB
Phaenocora sulfophila
(Gilbert, 1938)
Karling, 1956
(Figs 11B1, B2, 15E)
Pseudophaenocora sulfophila
Gilbert 1938: 193
–216,
Figs 1–10
;
Marcus 1946
: 70
–72, 75, 164.
Phaenocora
(
Pseudophaenocora
)
sulfophila
Karling 1956
: 195
, 200,
Fig.
5
p. 195.
Known distribution:
near New Market (Virginia,
USA
), in a sulphur spring (
Gilbert 1938a
).
Material examined:
None.
Diagnosis:
Animals about 3.5–4.8 mm long, colourless with pigmented eyes. Zoochlorellae absent.
Male
copulatory organ of the duplex-type IA. Female genital system of the
AGLOBULATA
-
type
. Large intestinal bursa communicates with the gut by means of a relatively long burso-intestinal duct. Genito-bursal duct relatively long. A large diverticulum, lined with a strong pseudocuticula and surrounded by a thick muscle layer, is connected to the superior genital atrium through its antero-dorsal wall. With tertiary lobes on the pear-shaped appendages.
Remarks:
Initially,
Gilbert (1938a)
placed
Phaenocora sulfophila
in the monospecific genus
Pseudophaenocora
Gilbert, 1938
, mainly because he considered the male copulatory organ of this species to be fundamentally different from the copulatory organ of the other species of
Phaenocora
.
As
discussed in the COMPARISON OF SPECIES section, we found the copulatory organ to be of the duplex
type
IA. Additionally,
Gilbert (1938a)
mentioned four features that were only described for
P. sulfophila
: presence of tertiary lobes on the pearshaped appendages, presence of the diverticulum connected to the superior genital atrium, presence of a ductus copulatorius (terminology of
Gilbert 1938a
) with a high columnar epithelium, and presence of a large glandular papilla attached to the inferior genital atrium. However, the diagnostic value of some of these characters is uncertain. Tertiary lobes of the pear-shaped appendages were also described for
P. evelinae
(although this is probably incorrect: see remarks on
P. evelinae
).
Figure 3
of
Beklemischev (1929)
suggests the presence of a diverticulum in
P. polycirra
(also
Fig. 16
F: div), which is situated at the anterio-ventral side, although he does not specifically mention this in the text. A large glandular papilla also occurs in
P. clavigera
. The presence of a ductus copulatorius is typical for
P. sulfophilla
. A high columnar epithelium borders the connection between the inferior and superior genital atria in
P. anomalocoela
(
Fig. 2
B: cc), but this species lacks a genuine ductus copulatorius. Typical of
P. sulfophila
is the short and slender female genital canal, which is widest in the middle. In all other species the female genital canal is widest at the junction with the superior genital atrium.