First report on Rhabdocoela (Rhabditophora) from deep parts of Skagerrak, with the description of four new species
Author
Willems, Wim R.
Author
Sandberg, Maria I.
Author
Jondelius, Ulf
text
Zootaxa
2007
1616
1
21
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.179102
33efc04a-ad1c-46eb-bd76-0595517c05e6
1175-5326
179102
Utelga heinckei
(
Attems, 1897
)
Karling, 1954
(
Fig. 6
E–F)
Localities
. Loc. 2 and Loc. 5.
Known distribution
. Northern Atlantic (see
Karling 1980
and references therein): west coast of
USA
, North Sea, Skagerrak, Irish Sea, Irish Atlantic coast.
Material
. Two individuals studied alive and whole-mounted.
Description and remarks
. In both studied individuals one of the three hooks associated with the male copulatory organ is larger than the two other ones (
Fig. 6
E: 23µm, 11µm, 11µm and
Fig. 6
F: 20µm, 11µm, 10µm). The measurements correspond to earlier data (e.g.
Karling 1980
: 22–36 µm), although the hooks are a bit shorter in the two Skagerrak-specimens. At first sight, the shape of the hooks seems to differ between the two individuals, but when closely examining their construction it is clear that they are all very similar. In both individuals all hooks have a straight gutter-shaped spine-like part and a more plate-like part that can be bent under different angles in respect to the spine-like part. This explains the overall difference in appearance between the hooks of both individuals, but also explains the odd shape of the larger hook in one individual (
Fig. 6
E), where the angle is ± 180º. In both specimens an odd-looking secretion consisting of light-refracting, very coarse grains is present in the prostate vesicle.