Kalyptorhynchia (Platyhelminthes: Rhabdocoela) from KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), with the description of six new species
Author
Willems, Wim R.
Author
Reygel, Patrick
Author
Steenkiste, Niels Van
Author
Tessens, Bart
Author
Artois, Tom J.
text
Zootaxa
2017
4242
3
441
466
journal article
36297
10.11646/zootaxa.4242.3.2
0abf37ce-8190-42a4-87bc-96f3c8e10a38
1175-5326
376905
C67937C9-844F-461E-AABB-121B9C3CE5FA
Uncinorhynchus linusi
Willems & Artois
n. sp.
(
Fig. 2
E–H)
Locality.
iSimangaliso
Wetland Park
, Lake
St. Lucia
estuary, detritus-rich, fine-grained sand taken from the land side of a sandbank that cuts off the estuary from the
Indian Ocean
,
December 16, 2009
(
type
locality).
Material.
One animal studied alive and whole mounted, designated holotype (SMNH, Type-8853).
Etymology.
Species dedicated to Linus Willems, the first author’s son.
Diagnosis.
Unpigmented species of
Uncinorhynchus
, lacking eyes; proboscis hooks ± 37 µm high with basal wings ± 33 µm long and a dagger-like hook; complex male hard part consisting of a 30 µm-long, hollow stylet, attached to a 35 µm-long, club-shaped plate and an 18 µm-long, spine-like projection.
Description.
Habitus and general organisation are almost identical to those of other species of
Uncinorhynchus
Karling, 1947
(see
Karling 1947
,
1989
;
Brunet 1973b
).
The rather slender animal is mainly colourless with a brownish intestine, and lacks eyes. It is
1.7 mm
long (measured on a whole-mounted specimen). The pharynx is situated almost at midbody. The proboscis is approximately 1/10 of the body length long and carries two proboscis hooks (
Fig. 2
E: h, 2F), which are 36–38 µm high, each with two 29–37-µm-long basal wings and a rather straight, dagger-like hook. Testis and ovary unpaired; a vitellarium could not be observed. The prostate vesicle is elongated and somewhat pear-shaped. It encloses the prostate glands, which have clearly-visible extracapsular parts, and a small internal seminal vesicle. Proximally, this internal seminal vesicle is connected to a large, external seminal vesicle. Distally, the prostate vesicle is connected to a complex hard part (
Fig. 2
E: pst, 2G–H), which consists of the hollow stylet, a spine-like projection (x in
Fig. 2
G) and a club-shaped plate (y in
Fig. 2
G). The stylet proper is 30 µm long and has a cup-shaped, 12 - µm-wide proximal part and a curved and slender distal part. At the convex side of the cup-shaped part, the stylet carries a perpendicularly-bent, spine-like projection, which is 18 µm long. Additionally, the proximal part of the stylet also carries a 35 µm-long, bent, plate-like part, which is very slender proximally with a distal rectangular part, giving it the overall appearance of a golf club.
Discussion.
Species of
Uncinorhynchus
are characterised by the typical shape of their proboscis hooks, the absence of eyes, a hook-shaped stylet and the absence of a bursal organ in the female genital system (
Karling 1947
,
1952
,
1989
;
Brunet 1973b
;
Kolasa 1977
;
Willems
et al.
2007
). At present, seven species are known, which can be distinguished from each other by the detailed structure of the stylet. Whereas the stylet is triangular in shape without any attached processes in
U. flavidus
Karling, 1947
,
U. karlingi
Kolasa, 1977
and
U. vorago
Willems
et al.
, 2007
, it is funnel-shaped and carries a plate-like part in
U. hamatus
Brunet, 1973
,
U. pacificus
Karling, 1989
,
U. proporus
Brunet, 1973
,
U. westbladi
Karling, 1952
, and the new
South
African species. However, in
U. linusi
n. sp.
this plate-like extension is only slightly curved, ends bluntly and is attached to the concave side of the stylet, whereas in the other four species the extension is spine-like, bent perpendicularly, has a sharp distal point and is attached to the convex side of the stylet. In addition, the stylet of
U. linusi
n. sp.
carries a second, club-shaped projection, which is missing in all other species.