Marine Gastrotricha of the Near East: 1. Fourteen new species of Macrodasyida and a redescription of Dactylopodola agadasys Hochberg, 2003 Author Hummon, William D. text ZooKeys 2011 94 1 59 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.94.794 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.94.794 1313-2970-94-1 Paraturbanella levantia sp. n. Figure 17 Paraturbanella EgyA Hummon (2001, 2004, 2007, 2009) [E Med & Red Seas Database]. Paraturbanella levantina Todaro et al. (2003 : Appx. I, listed as nomen nudum that was reported in a CD "Global Data Base for Marine Gastrotricha" Hummon, 2001*) Diagnosis: Adult Lt 657 µm ; PhJIn at U23. Body elongate, slender; mouth a narrow outwardly rolled protrusion, head with a band of circumcephalic cilia at U03 and prominent pestle organs at U04, but lacking lateral lobes; neck constriction lacking, body sides parallel over most of their length, thinning gradually to the caudal base; caudum is slightly cleft, incised from its tips to U97; medial cone usually absent. Glands inconspicuous, ca. 28 per side. TbA 8 per side, the shortest one inserting on the medial edge, occur on fleshy hands that insert at U11; TbL absent; TbD 7 per side at U27-U84 and TbV 14 per side at U29-U88, all in the intestinal region, of similar size and spacing; 'dohrni' [ Seitenfuesschen ] tubes 2 per side, posteriolaterally directed (L longer tube =20 µm , shorter =15 µm ), inserting ventrolaterally just behind the fleshy hands at U12; TbP 8 per side, the outermost being the longest and thickest, the others being shorter, with none occurring on the lateral or leading edges of the lobes. Locomotor ciliature: 2 longitudinal bands run from the pestle organs back and join behind the level of the anus. Mouth terminal, breadth narrow; buccal cavity small, deep, vaseshaped; walls of medium cuticularization; basal pharyngeal pores large and conspicuous; intestine narrows gradually front to rear; anus is ventral at U93. Hermaphroditic, protandrous to simultaneous; paired testes extend rearward from just behind the PhJIn, their vasa deferentia recurving to the fore and exiting at about U31; small developing ova occur bilaterally in the mid-gut region; frontal and caudal organs not seen. Description: Adult Lt 635-657 µm ; L to PhJIn 155-163 µm at U26-U23 (Fig. 17). Body elongate, slender; mouth a narrow outwardly rolled protrusion, head with a band of circumcephalic cilia at U03 and prominent pestle organs at U04, but lacking lateral lobes; neck constriction lacking, body sides parallel over most of their length, thinning gradually to the caudal base; caudum is slightly cleft, incised from its tips to U97; medial cone is usually absent. Widths at narrowed mouth /pestle organs /PhJIn /mid-trunk /furcal base, tips, and their locations along the body length are: 18 /31 /38 /44 /18, 30 µm at U02 /U04 /U23 /U58 /U97, U100. Epidermal glands ca. 28 per side, small (2-5 µm diameter), are distributed along the lateral body margins, but appear inconspicuous. Adhesive tubes: TbA 8 per side (L 5-9 µm ), the shortest one inserting on the medial most edge, occur on fleshy hands that insert at U11; TbL absent; TbD 7 per side (L 11-14 µm ) from U27 to U84 and TbV 14 per side (L also 11-14 µm ) from U29 to U88, all of similar size and spacing in the intestinal region; 'dohrni' [ Seitenfuesschen ] tubes 2 per side, posteriolaterally directed (L longer tube 20 µm , shorter 15 µm ), inserting ventrolaterally immediately behind the fleshy hands at U12; TbP 8 per side, the outermost being the longest and thickest (L 14 µm ), the others being shorter (L 3-9 µm ), none occurring on the lateral or leading edges of the lobes. Ciliation: Head protrusion has sensory hairs (L 11-30 µm ) laterally and a circumcephalic band of cilia (L 14 µm ) at U03; other sensory hairs (L 20-30 µm ) occur on the trunk in lateral, dorsolateral and dorsal columns, with 14/14/18 per side. Ventral locomotor cilia (L=8 µm ) flow from the circumcephalic band rearward in two longitudinal bands that trace the lateral body margins, joining again behind the level of the anus. Digestive tract: Mouth terminal, narrow (8 µm diameter); buccal cavity small, deep, vaseshaped; walls of medium cuticularization; basal pharyngeal pores are large and conspicuous, but lack pharyngeal knobs; intestine broadest in front, narrowing gradually to the rear, with a bulge at the level of the ventral anus, U93. Reproductive tract: Hermaphroditic, protandrous to simultaneous; paired testes extend rearward from just behind the PhJIn, their vasa deferentia recurving from the rear to the fore and exiting behind together at U31; small developing ova (61 x 13 and 41 x 8 µm ) occur bilaterally in the mid-gut region; neither frontal nor caudal organs were seen. Figure 17. Paraturbanella levantia sp. n. dorsal and ventral views of a mature adult (Lt=657, LPh=163 µm ) from Bir Mesud, Alexandria, Egypt; dorsal with pestle organs, pattern of glands, dorsal and lateral body cilia, digestive and reproductive tracts; ventral with adhesive tubes and locomotor ciliary bands. Ecology: Sparse (less than 10% of samples) in frequency of occurrence, rare to scarce (fewer than 1 to 3-5% of a sample) in abundance; sublittoral in very fine to medium fine, medium-well sorted silicious or carbonate sand at 0.53 m depth, occasionally in fine to coarse, poorly sorted sand at 6 m depth near the bases of beachrock slabs. Geographical distribution: MED SEA:CYPRUS: {Coral Bay [video]}; EGYPT: {^Bir Mesud ( 31°14'N , 29°58'E ) [video], Cleopatra Beach [video], Green Beach, Hannoville, Mamura [4-videos]}; ISRAEL: {Palmachim N [video]}. Remarks: There are eight video sequences of Paraturbanella levantia sp. n., all from the eastern Mediterranean Sea in Cyprus, Egypt and Israel. Five of these are available as MPEG 2 (and MPEG 1) from Hummon (2009) : #975 a mature Lectotype adult of Lt=657 µm (LPh=168 µm ), collected in April 1994 from Bir Mesud, near Alexandria, Egypt; #976 a mature adult of Lt=635 µm (LPh=163 µm ) from Coral Bay, Cyprus; #974 a subadult of Lt=400 µm (LPh=138 µm ) from Cleopatra Beach, in Alexandria; #972 a subadult of Lt=335 µm (LPh=127 µm ) from Mamura, near Alexandria; and the other, #971 a juvenile of Lt=211 µm (LPh=96 µm ) also from Mamura. The Cleopatra specimen alone showed a caudal cone; others had an associated gland, but no protruding cone. Specimens often bear a variety of small diatoms internally. [*Note: some proposed species names were included in the prototype CD, referred to by Todaro et al. 2003 , but were expurgated from the CD before it was made available to all attendees at the 11th International Meiofauna Conference of 2001 in Boston.] Etymology: Levantia is named after the eastern Mediterranean region in which it was first found. Taxonomic affinities: Paraturbanella levantia sp. n. is the only species in the genus to have a narrowly protruding outwardly rolled mouth, prominent pestle organs at U04, and a PhJIn at U26-U23, which also has TbA 8 per side, the medial tube shorter than the others; TbL absent; TbD 7 per side and TbV 14 per side, all in the intestinal region; TbP 8 per side, the outer being the longest and thickest; 'dohrni' [ Seitenfuesschen ] tubes 2 per side; but usually no caudal cone. Paraturbanella levantia sp. n., alone in the genus has both TbD and TbV, but lacks TbL.