Higher classification of the Monostilifera (Nemertea: Hoplonemertea)
Author
Kajihara, Hiroshi
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-01-28
4920
2
151
199
journal article
8401
10.11646/zootaxa.4920.2.1
ec1a3d33-651e-499c-b775-b42a131ec75a
1175-5326
4475126
C369AA2D-29D5-4DDF-BFE2-EA4FC4AD2703
Verrillianemertes schultzei
Senz, 2001
Remarks
Described based on four specimens from Umm al-Dalkh oil field in the Persian Gulf, off the
United Arab Emirates
, up to
3 mm
in body length. With two to six eyes. The rhynchocoel is half the length of the body; its wall is mainly composed of circular muscle fibres, but longitudinal muscle fibres are also interwoven to varying degrees, a condition otherwise not hitherto reported in
Monostilifera
. The cerebral organs are simple, reaching back to 66% of the pre-septal region; the position of the organs thus differs from that in
Cratenemertea
.A stylet apparatus is missing from
V. schultzei
. Whether or not the mid-dorsal vessel forms a vascular plug is unknown. While the
type
species of the genus
Verrillianemertes rathkei
Senz, 2001
likely belongs in
Amphiporina
,
V. schultzei
cannot be placed with certainty in any of the higher taxon recognized in this paper.