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The heteronemertean Cerebratulus orochi sp. nov. is described based on material collected intertidally at a muddy beach in Akkeshi, northern Japan. For the last 80 years, the species has been confused with Cerebratulus marginatus Renier, 1804; the latter was originally described from the Adriatic and once believed to occur in many places in the northern hemisphere including Japan. Cerebratulus orochi sp. nov. is morphologically different from all the congeners including C. marginatus by the following combination of characters: several layers of diagonal-muscle meshwork coated with connective tissue, proximo-distally distributed in cross section from the distal portion of the body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer to the cutis-gland zone throughout the anterior portion of the body from the precerebral to the foregut regions; the cephalic vascular system consisting of lateral and mid-dorsal vessels; and the sub-rhynchocoelic vessel possessing a pair of antero-lateral diverticula before the former forks posteriorly into a pair of lower lateral vessels in the post-cerebral, pre-oral region. Previous records of C. marginatus from Japanese waters are no longer considered to be substantiated. Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), as well as the nuclear 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and histone H3 genes among heteronemerteans comprising the “Cerebratulus clade” indicated that C. orochi sp. nov. was closely related to C. cf. marginatus from the US Pacific coast. A MegaBLAST search at the NCBI website with the 16S rRNA gene sequence from C. orochi sp. nov. followed by a couple of species delimitation analyses suggests that larvae of the species are also distributed in Vostok Bay, Far East Russia. more...

Cerebratulus orochi sp. nov. [Japanese vernacular name: orochi-himomushi] (Figs 1���6) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4D83D504-9E2D-4782-9FF6-4C0B186D32F1 Cerebratulus marginatus: Yamaoka (1940), p. 222, pl. II, figs 6���8, text-fig. 9; Iwata (1954a), p. 14; Schwartz (2009), p. 79 [in part], figs 6E, 25E. Heteronemertea sp. 13: Hiebert (2016), p. 266, figs 7.4, 7.5. Diagnosis. A Cerebratulus with saddlebrown body colour with whitish lateral edges; several layers of diagonalmuscle meshwork coated with connective tissue, proximo-distally ranging from distal portion of body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer to cutis-gland zone in precerebral and foregut regions; no connective tissue layer between cutis glands and body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer; no diagonal muscle between body-wall outer longitudinal and middle circular muscle layers; heterotype proboscis with two muscle crosses; cephalic vascular system consisting of lateral and mid-dorsal vessels; sub-rhynchocoelic vessel possessing a pair of antero-lateral diverticula in post-cerebral, pre-oral region; no eyes; frontal organs present. Material examined. Four specimens photographed, of which one was designated as the holotype; all from the type locality. Holotype: ICHUM 6078, 21 June 2019, collected by R. Rajagopal and R. Harada; serial transverse sections of the anterior end (from anterior tip to anterior foregut region), 6 ��m, 80 slides, Mallory (except two, stained with HE); horizontal sections of the foregut region, 5 ��m, 22 slides, Mallory; transverse sections of the intestinal region, 7 ��m, 18 slides, Mallory; horizontal sections of the intestinal region, 5 ��m, 35 slides, Mallory; transverse sections of the proboscis, 8 ��m, 2 slides, HE. The other three specimens were collected in July 1999, May 2010, and June 2012; the 1999 specimen was studied by Schwartz (2009), the remaining two are kept in HK���s personal collection. Type locality. About 43.0523��N, 144.8442��E, Shinryu, Akkeshi, Hokkaido, Japan; intertidal, muddy beach. Sequences. LC538101, 16S, 504 bp; LC538102, COI, 639 bp; LC538103, 18S, 1682 bp; LC538104, 28S, 1282 bp; LC538105, H3, 331 bp. Etymology. The specific name orochi is an indeclinable noun, taken from the Japanese vernacular name first appeared in Okuda (1947, p. 1472), referring to a giant serpent or an eight-headed dragon in Japanese mythology. Description. External features. Holotype 32 cm in length, 1.3 cm in maximum width, saddlebrown in colour, with whitish lateral margins; latter becoming thinner in intestinal region while swimming. Head ovate, slightly pointed anteriorly, 7 mm in maximum width at middle portion of precerebral region, 6 mm in width at level of anterior end of mouth in anaesthetized state (Fig. 1A, B). Rhynchodaeum opening ventrally at anterior tip of head; body surface on periphery of rhynchodaeal pore tinged with olive colour (Fig. 1B, C). Lateral cephalic slits extending to level of anterior end of mouth. Mouth aperture 5 mm in antero-posterior length in anaesthetized state. Intestinal region flattened, with thin paler transverse lines encircling body, arranged at more-or-less regular intervals. Posterior end of body paler than anterior portion for about 1 cm; caudal cirrus about 1 mm long [indicating recent posterior regeneration; caudal cirrus in an intact specimen reached 15 mm]. Proboscis yellowish brown when everted in living state. Body wall and musculature. Epidermis 20���30 ��m tall in precerebral region, 30���40 ��m tall in foregut region (Fig. 2A, B), and 40���50 ��m tall in anterior intestinal region. Subepidermal muscles consisting of circular, diagonal, and longitudinal muscles in foregut region (Fig. 2C); no diagonal muscles found in intestinal region (Fig. 2D). Cutis glands chiefly acidophilic in foregut region (Fig. 2A, B), but predominantly basophilic in intestinal region (Fig. 3A); cutis glands not separated by connective-tissue layer from body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer in any portion of body. Body-wall musculature consisting of outer longitudinal, middle circular, and inner longitudinal muscle layers. Bundles of diagonal muscles forming meshwork coated with connective tissue present as four to eight distinct layers, proximo-distally ranging from distal portion of body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer to just above cutis-gland zone, antero-posteriorly distributed from precerebral region to foregut region. No diagonal muscle layer present between body-wall outer longitudinal muscle and middle circular muscle layers. Oblique-muscle meshwork present within outer portion of body-wall longitudinal muscle layer in precerebral region (Fig. 2E). Radial muscles running through body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer in foregut region (Fig. 2A). Dorsoventral muscles powerfully developed between intestinal diverticula and gonads through body-wall inner longitudinal muscle layer (Fig. 3A, B); dorsoventral muscles also present in body-wall outer longitudinal muscle layer, but sparsely (Fig. 3B). Body-wall middle circular muscle layer not apposed to rhynchocoel outer circular muscle, but always separated from latter by body-wall inner longitudinal muscles in foregut and intestinal regions. Muscle cross between bodywall middle circular layer and rhynchocoel outer circular layer not found. Epidermis on lateral edge of body in intestinal region indented proximally in non-swimming state (Fig. 3B). Proboscis and rhynchocoel. Rhynchodaeum anteriorly ciliated, not glandular throughout its length. Rhynchodaeal sphincter present just in front of proboscis insertion, latter situated in front of brain. Proboscis heterotype, its middle portion consisting of glandular epithelium, outer longitudinal muscle layer, neuroplexus, circular muscle layer, diagonal muscle layer, inner longitudinal muscle layer, connective tissue, and endothelial lining containing circular muscles (Fig. 3C); two muscle crosses present (Fig. 3D). Pseudocnidae about 5 ��m in length, arranged as bundles, each containing about 15 in number (Fig. 3E) on top of proboscis epithelium mostly on same side as small-sized muscle cross. Rhynchocoel under vascular plug anteriorly interwoven with body-wall musculature (Fig. 4 A���F); posteriorly, rhynchocoel wall consisting of separate inner longitudinal and outer circular muscle layers in foregut region (Fig. 4G, H). Vascular system. Cephalic lacuna beginning above rhynchodaeal opening, posteriorly soon divided into three vessels, each assuming radial, dendritic, or amoeboid shape in cross section, lying dorsal and lateral to rhynchodaeum (Fig. 2E); lateral vessels often further subdivided by muscle bundles; just anterior to proboscis insertion, dorsal vessel fuses with lateral ones and disappears. After passing through cerebral ring, two lateral cephalic vessels fuse ventrally with each other to form U-shaped vessel, from which mid-dorsal vessel arises to enter rhynchocoel. U-shaped vessel soon divides into two, upper lateral vessels and single, median, sub-rhynchocoelic vessel (Figs 4A, 5A). Posteriorly, median sub-rhynchocoelic vessel flanked with anteriorly blind-ending vessels on both sides for about 100 ��m in length (Fig. 4B) before fused with each other (Fig. 4C). Further posteriorly, median sub-rhynchocoelic vessel horizontally forked into two, further posteriorly running as lower lateral vessels (Fig. 4D). Upper lateral vessels surrounding posterior margins of cerebral organs (Fig. 4A, B), posteriorly connecting for sometimes to lower lateral vessels on each side immediately anterior to mouth opening (Fig. 4E). Further posteriorly, lower lateral vessels subdivided to form vascular plexus surrounding foregut. Blood corpuscles present, about 10 ��m in diameter (Fig. 4G, H). Nervous system. Conforming to general heteronemertean nervous system (cf. Beckers 2015). Brain and lateral nerves with both inner and outer neurilemmata (Fig. 6A); glial cells abundant between ganglionic cells and outer neurilemma. Dorsal and ventral commissures 90 ��m and 120 ��m in thickness, respectively, in terms of fibrous tissues. B��rger type I cells with orange-G staining nucleus and little cytoplasm, most frequently found above neuropil of dorsal lobe (Fig. 5A, B). B��rger type II with nucleus having various staining affinities also frequently found above neuropil of dorsal lobe as well as ventral to neuropil of ventral lobe (Fig. 5 A���C). B��rger type III mainly distributed medially to neuropil of dorsal lobe as well as medioventrally to neuropil of ventral lobe; cytoplasm usually staining greyish with Mallory���s staining (Fig. 5C), but occasionally reddish (Fig. 5B). Neurochord cell, up to 70 ��m in long axis, present medially to neuropil of ventral lobe (Fig. 5C). Neurochord (i.e., innervation from neurochord cell) running anterolaterally for 170 ��m within neuropil of ventral ganglion, but its ultimate fate not traceable. Lateral nerve with longitudinal muscle fibres in ganglionic portion abutting laterally on inner neurilemma of fibrous core (Fig. 6B). No neurochord found in lateral nerve. Radial muscles from body-wall middle circular muscle piercing upper ganglionic portion of lateral nerve (Fig. 6B). Digestive system. Conforming to normal heteronemertean digestive system. Longitudinal muscle plate present below rhynchocoel in foregut region; transverse muscles present below longitudinal muscle plate in foregut region (Fig. 4G, H). Somatic muscles consisting of isolated longitudinal and circular fibres laterally and ventrally to foregut (Fig. 6C). Sensory system. Frontal organs present, three in number (Fig. 5D). Basophilic subepidermal glandular cells distributed from rear of frontal organs to short distance posterior to rhynchodaeal opening; glandular contents not discharged via frontal organs. Epidermis on lateral cephalic slits not fixed well in histological preparation; epidermal specialization on cephalic slits not observable. Cerebral sensory organs posteriorly bathed in upper lateral vessels (Fig. 4A). No eyes. Excretory system. Collecting tubules present on distal wall of vascular plexus around foregut (Fig. 6C). Nephridiopores not included in serial sections. Reproductive system. Holotype female. Ovaries alternating with intestinal lateral diverticula (Fig. 3A) with interval being about 3 ovaries per 1 mm antero-posterior length; one randomly chosen ovary contained 62 oocytes. Oocytes teardrop-shaped, with mean (standard deviation) size being 122 (15) ��m in long-axis length and 67 (10) ��m in short-axis length (n = 10). Germinal vesicle with mean (standard deviation) diameter being 45 (2) ��m (n = 10). Phylogeny and species delimitation. The resulting maximum-likelihood and Bayesian trees based on the multi-locus dataset were identical in topology. In the resulting trees (Fig. 7), Cerebratulus orochi sp. nov. was sister to C. cf. marginatus from the US Pacific coast; these two species differed by 0.061 uncorrected p -distance and 0.064 K2P in terms of 16S (506 bp), and 0.173 p -distance and 0.178 K2P in terms of COI (639 bp). *Conspecific with Cerebratulus marginatus of Andrade et al. (2012). The MegaBLAST search at the NCBI website with the 16S sequence of C. orochi sp. nov. detected four species���all tentatively identified or unidentified���that showed less than 0.060 p -distance and 0.063 K2P to the query sequence (Table 2). Both the ABGD and PTP analyses based on the 16S dataset resulted in the same delimitation, in which C. orochi sp. nov. was conspecific with the Heteronemertea sp. 13 of Hiebert (2016) (Fig. 8). The same search and analyses with the COI dataset detected five species (Table 3, Fig. 9), where C. orochi sp. nov. was most closely related to Cerebratulus sp. ���spade head��� of Hiebert (2016)., Published as part of Kajihara, Hiroshi, 2020, Redescription of Cerebratulus marginatus auct. (Nemertea: Pilidiophora) from Hokkaido, Japan, as a new species, pp. 295-315 in Zootaxa 4819 (2) on pages 298-306, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4819.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/4396930, {"references":["Yamaoka, T. (1940) The fauna of Akkeshi Bay. IX Nemertini. Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido Imperial University, Series VI, Zoology, 7, 205 - 263, pls. XIV-XVII.","Iwata, F. (1954 a) The fauna of Akkeshi Bay. XX. Nemertini in Hokkaido (revised report). Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Series VI, Zoology, 12, 1 - 39.","Schwartz, M. L. (2009) Untying a Gordian Knot of Worms: Systematics and Taxonomy of the Pilidiophora (Phylum Nemertea) from Multiple Data Sets. Ph. D. Thesis, The George Washington University, Washington, D. C., xii + 413 pp.","Hiebert, T. C. (2016) New Nemertean Diversity Discovered in the Northeast Pacific Using Surveys of Both Planktonic Larvae and Benthic Adults. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, xxviii + 402 pp.","Okuda, S. (1947) [Orochi-himomushi] Cerebratulus marginatus Renier. In: Uchida, S. (Ed.), Revised Edition, Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Fauna of Japan (Exclusive of Insects). Hokuryukan, Tokyo, pp. 1472, fig. 4150.","Beckers, P. (2015) The nervous systems of Pilidiophora (Nemertea). Zoomorphology, 134 (1), 1 - 24. https: // doi. org / 10.1007 / s 00435 - 014 - 0246 - 3","Morgulis, A., Coulouris, G., Raytselis, Y., Madden, T. L., Agarwala, R. & Schaffer, A. A. (2008) Database indexing for production MegaBLAST searches. Bioinformatics, 24 (16), 1757 - 1764. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / bioinformatics / btn 322","Andrade, S. C. S., Strand, M., Schwartz, M., Chen, H., Kajihara, H., von Dohren, J., Sun, S., Junoy, J., Thiel, M., Norenburg, J. L., Turbeville, J. M., Giribet, G. & Sundberg, P. (2012) Disentangling ribbon worm relationships: multi-locus analysis supports traditional classification of the phylum Nemertea. Cladistics, 28 (2), 141 - 159. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 0031.2011.00376. x","Zattara, E. E., Fernandez-Alvarez, F. A., Hiebert, T. C., Bely, A. E. & Norenburg, J. L. (2019) A phylum-wide survey reveals multiple independent gains of head regeneration in Nemertea. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286 (1898), 20182524. https: // doi. org / 10.1098 / rspb. 2018.2524","Ament-Velasquez, S. L., Figuet, E., Ballenghien, M., Zattara, E. E., Norenburg, J. L., Fernandez-Alvarez, F. A., Bierne, J., Bierne, N. & Galtier, N. (2016) Population genomics of sexual and asexual lineages in fissiparous ribbon worms (Lineus, Ne- mertea): hybridization, polyploidy and the Meselson effect. Molecular Ecology, 25 (14), 3356 - 3369. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / mec. 13717","Kvist, S., Laumer, C. E., Junoy, J. & Giribet, G. (2014) New insights into the phylogeny, systematics and DNA barcoding of Nemertea. Invertebrate Systematics, 28 (3), 287 - 308. https: // doi. org / 10.1071 / IS 13061"]} more...

The heteronemertean genus Dushia Corrêa, 1963 was established for what was identified as D. atra (Girard, 1851) (originally Meckelia atra) based on material from littoral, shallow waters in Curaçao, while the nominal species Meckelia atra was originally described from deep water off Florida Cape. In this paper, we conclude that the type species for Dushia has been misidentified. Based on specimens from the Caribbean, we establish D. wijnhoffae Schwartz & Norenburg sp. nov. to represent the true identity of the genus, according to Article 70.3.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature; Meckelia atra should be regarded as a nomen dubium. While the genus has remained monotypic since its establishment, our molecular analysis discovered a second member—or rather a group of members—from the West Pacific. This ‘group of members’, herein termed Dushia nigra (Stimpson, 1855) species complex comb. nov., involves i) at least two genetically separated biological entities, 0.136–0.148 (p-distance) and 0.152–0.168 (K2P) apart in terms of 513-bp COI sequences, which we interpret as likely to represent cryptic species, ii) three color forms, orange, brown, and black, with the last one occurring most frequently, and iii) four nominal species, Meckelia nigra Stimpson, 1855 (now Cerebratulus niger), Meckelia rubella Stimpson, 1855 (now Cerebratulus rubellus), Micrura formosana Yamaoka, 1939, and Micrura japonica Iwata, 1952. At present, however, we have no objective ground as to which of the four potentially available names (i.e., formosana, japonica, nigra, and rubella) should be allotted to the two cryptic species discovered in the analysis, because i) a single locality can harbor two cryptic species, ii) a single cryptic species may contain three different color morphs (i.e., orange, brown, black), and iii) no data from the type localities for these four nominal species are available at the moment. Our multi-locus analysis of heteronemerteans—for which 16S rRNA, COI, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, histone H3 genes are available in public databases—shows that Dushia wijnhoffae sp. nov. and Dushia nigra species complex comb. nov. form a clade, which is closely related to Gorgonorhynchus albocinctus Kajihara, 2015 and an undetermined heteronemertean that has been misidentified as Cerebratulus leucopsis (Coe, 1901). Members of Dushia thus show a vicariant Caribbean–West-Pacific distribution, indicating that the lineage predates the rise of the Isthmus of Panama. more...

Outbreaks of ribbon worms observed in 2013, 2015, and 2017–2019 in the Han River Estuary, South Korea, have caused damage to local glass-eel fisheries. The Han River ribbon worms have been identified asYininemertespratensis(Sun & Lu, 1998) based on not only morphological characteristics compared with the holotype and paratype specimens, but also DNA sequence comparison with topotypes freshly collected near the Yangtze River mouth, China. Using sequences of six gene markers (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, histone H3, histone H4, 16S rRNA, and COI), the phylogenetic position ofY.pratensiswas inferred among other heteronemerteans based on their sequences obtained from public databases. This analysis firmly placedY.pratensisas a close relative toApatronemertesalbimaculosaWilfert & Gibson, 1974, which has been reported from aquarium tanks containing tropical freshwater plants in various parts of the world as well as a wild environment in Panama. more...

Strand, Malin ... et al.-- 2 pages, Nemertean classification has closely followed Stiasny‐Wijnhoff's scheme (1936) that was based on Schultze's (1851) division of the taxon into the two classes Anopla and Enopla. In August 2018, the 9th International Conference of Nemertean Biology took place in the Wadden Sea Station of the Alfred Wegener Institute in List auf Sylt, Germany. At this meeting, the community reached consensus to revise nemertean taxonomy at the class level, based on the compiled evidence from studies on nemertean systematics published in the last 15 years (Andrade et al., 2012, 2014 ; Thollesson & Norenburg, 2003). Previous classifications (e.g., Stiasny‐Wijnhoff, 1936) are not based on phylogenetic grounds, and the use of these names is therefore nowadays not wholly informative. With the purpose of facilitating the practical use of the nemertean taxonomy and also making nemertean taxonomy reflect a wealth of more recent information, we conclude that the ranks Anopla and Enopla should be eliminated with the following argumentation: “Enopla” has for long held no more information than the name “Hoplonemertea”. “Anopla” is paraphyletic and the name usually corresponds to the following traits: (a) not bearing stylet; and (b) mouth and proboscis having separate openings. This information is equally well presented in a system that also bears information on natural groups. The names “Anopla” and “Enopla” are hence dismissed and the following system of the Nemertea phylum is implemented: Class: Palaeonemertea Currently no Orders Class: Pilidiophora Order: Heteronemertea Class: Hoplonemertea Order: Monostilifera Order: Polystilifera The changes do not affect lower levels of taxonomy, but in accordance with Thollesson and Norenburg (2003), who first presented Pilidiophora, genus Hubrechtella is transferred from class Palaeonemertea to the class Pilidiophora more...

Cerebratulus sp. 1 (Figure 2 [5 a��� 5 b]) Material examined. One specimen (176 mm), MZUSP 0 0 0 16, Brazil, Cear��, Paracuru, Praia Pedra da Rachada, 3 �� 23.95 ' S 39 �� 0.85 ' W, under rock, on sand, coll. Cecili Mendes, 31.I. 2014. Two specimens (27 mm, 52 mm), MZUSP 0 0 0 17, Brazil, Cear��, Paracuru, Praia da Pedra Rachada, 3 �� 23.95 ' S 39 �� 0.85 ' W, under rock, on sand, coll. Cecili Mendes, 11.VIII. 2014. Field diagnosis. Bright orange anterior third of body; remaining body yellow. Body long and flat, ending in long transparent caudal cirrus. Head triangular shape with red cerebral ganglia visible. Shallow constriction at posterior of cephalic slits demarcates head. Mouth small, immediately posterior to cephalic slits. No eye spots. Animals fragment easily during anesthesia process. Ecology. Specimens were found in muddy sand, under rocks in middle intertidal zone. They appear to be solitary. Remarks. We assign this informally to Cerebratulus, on the basis of a relatively pointed head, a stout foregut region followed by a conspicuously flattened intestinal region and presence of a caudal cirrus. This species differs from C. ignea by the ground color (C. ignea is totally orange, while Cerebratulus sp. 1 is orange on the anteriorly and yellow on the mid-gut portion);by size (C. ignea ranges from 10 to 25mm, while Cerebratulus sp. 1 is 27 to 176 mm); by the shape of posterior end (C. ignea has a wide caudal end, while Cerebratulus sp. 1 has a sharp end); and by the habitat (C. ignea was found inside filamentous algal mat, while Cerebratulus sp. 1 was found in muddy sand)., Published as part of Mendes, Cecili B., Matthews-Cascon, Helena & Norenburg, Jon L., 2016, New records of ribbon worms (Nemertea) from Cear��, Northeast Brazil, pp. 146-156 in Zootaxa 4061 (2) on page 152, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4061.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/263586 more...

Cerebratulus cf. lineolatus Coe, 1905 (Figure 2 [4]) Cerebratulus lineolatus Coe, 1905: 196, pl. 4, fig. 44; Coe, 1940: 275; MacGinitie & MacGinitie, 1949: 163, textfig. 44; Corr��a, 1961: 14; Gibson, 1995: 337. Material examined. One specimen (115 mm, after preservation), MZUSP 0 0 0 13, Brazil, Cear��, Paracuru, Praia da Pedra Rachada, 3 �� 23.95 ' S 39 �� 0.85 ' W, under rock, on sand, coll. Cecili Mendes, 28.VIII. 2011. One specimen (39 mm, after preservation), MZUSP 0 0 0 14, Brazil, Cear��, Caucaia, Praia do Pacheco, 3 �� 41.11 ' S 38 �� 37.91 ' W, under rock, coll. Cecili Mendes, 18.VI. 2011. Two specimens (30 mm, 73 mm, after preservation), MZUSP 0 0 0 15, Brazil, Cear��, Paracuru, Pedra Rachada beach, 3 �� 23.95 ' S 39 �� 0.85 ' W, under rock, on sand, coll. Cecili Mendes, 20.VIII. 2012. Field diagnosis. Body beige, with posterior region reddish due to gonads; dorsal and ventral surfaces completely covered by numerous thin, interrupted, brown lines. Cephalic lobe triangular, narrowing to neck-like constriction. Body long and flat ending in short caudal cirrus; latter lost easily during collection. Cerebral ganglia visible as a reddish region in head. No eye spots evident. Distribution. Western Atlantic: USA (Florida [JLN unpublished obs] and South Carolina [Fox & Ruppert 1985]) and Brazil (Cear�� [present study]). Eastern Pacific: California (San Pedro, Newport, San Diego), Mexico (Puerto Refugio, Angel de la Guardia, Punta Willard, Bahia San Luis Gonzaga) (Coe 1940). Ecology. This species is reported from intertidal zone to depths of 70 m (Gibson 1995). They seem to inhabit mud or muddy sand. The specimens here were found on muddy sand under rocks in the lower intertidal zone, sometimes in direct contact with the rock. Remarks. The species was first described from the North Pacific Ocean, along the southwestern coast of North America, and a morphologically identical form has been reported from the south coast of Florida (Corr��a 1961; JLN, unpublished obs). No material is available from the Pacific Coast for comparison. Though the described appearance (Coe 1905; Coe 1940) is convincingly similar, the disjunct geographic and depth distributions provide cause to question the specific identity of the Brazilian (Florida and South Carolina) worms., Published as part of Mendes, Cecili B., Matthews-Cascon, Helena & Norenburg, Jon L., 2016, New records of ribbon worms (Nemertea) from Cear��, Northeast Brazil, pp. 146-156 in Zootaxa 4061 (2) on pages 151-152, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4061.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/263586, {"references":["Coe, W. R. (1905) Nemerteans of the west and northwest coasts of America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, 47, 1 - 318.","Coe, W. R. (1940) Revision of the nemertean fauna of the Pacific coasts of North, Central, and northern South America. Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions, 2, 247 - 322.","MacGinitie, G. E. & MacGinitie, N. (1949) Natural History of Marine Animals. McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, 354 pp.","Correa, D. D. (1961) Nemerteans from Florida and Virgin Islands. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 11, 1 - 44.","Gibson, R. (1995) Nemertean genera and species of the world: an annotated checklist of original names and description citations, synonyms, current taxonomic status, habitats and recorded zoogeographic distribution. Journal of Natural History, 29, 271 - 562. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222939500770161","Fox, R. S. & Ruppert, E. E. (1985) Shallow-Water Marine Benthic Macroinvertebrates of South Carolina. Species Identification, Community Composition, and Symbiotic Associations. Belle W. Baruch Library in Marine Science No. 14. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC, 43 pp."]} more...

Baseodiscus delineatus (Delle Chiaje, 1825) (Figure 2 [3]) Polia delineata ? Delle Chiaje, 1825: 427, pl. XXVIII, fig. 4. Borlasia striata Quoy & Gaimard, 1833: 286, pl. 24, figs 3, 4. Borlasia carmelina Quatrefages, 1846: 196. Polia curta Hubrecht, 1879: 209. Eupolia ascophora B��rger, 1890: 24, pl. II, fig. 27, pl. IX, fig. 184. Eupolia marmorata B��rger, 1890: 24, pl. I, fig. 11, pl. II, fig. 26, pl. V, fig. 73. Eupolia amboinensis Staub, 1900: 78, pl. XLVII, fig. 1, 1b, pl. XLVIII, figs 1���5. Eupolia reticulata ? Staub, 1900: 78, pl. XLVII, figs 3, 4, pl.XLVIII, figs 6���9. Baseodiscus insignis Punnet & Cooper, 1909: 5 pl. 1, figs 1 a, b. Baseodiscus curtus (Hubrecht, 1879): B��rger, 1904: 82; Stiasny-Wijnhoff, 1920: 102, fig. 2 a���e; Kajihara, 2007: 303. Baseodiscus delineatus var. curta (Hubrecht, 1879): B��rger, 1895: 601, pl. 3 ���5, 7, 9, 17, pl. 19 fig. 6; Stiasny-Wijnhoff, 1920: 102, pl. 5, fig. 2 a���e; Corr��a, 1956: 199, pl. 2, figs 6���11; Corr��a, 1958: 443, pl. 1 figs 1���2; Corr��a, 1961: 11, fig. 7; Corr��a, 1963: 42; Kajihara, 2007: 293. Baseodiscus delineatus (Delle Chiaje, 1825): Diesing, 1850: 243; B��rger, 1904: 82; Stiasny-Wijnhoff, 1920: 102; Coe, 1940: 260; Coe, 1947: 105; Coe, 1951: 179, fig. 24, fig. 25 a, b; Gibson, 1974: 355, figs 1���7; Gibson & Winsor, 1980: 173; Riser, 1991: 436; Vernet & Anadon, 1991: 92; Gibson, 1995: 478; Hochberg & Lunianski, 1998: 294; Gibson & Sundberg, 2001: 1260, tab. 1; Strand et al. 2005: 3785, figs 1, 2; McDermott, 2006: 1009; Kajihara, 2007: 303; Lyimo et al. 2008: 45; Wirtz, 2009: 46; Magarlamov & Chernyshev, 2011: 440, pl. 1, figs a���e, pl. 2 figs a���f. Material examined. One specimen (41 mm), MZUSP 0 0 0 0 9, Brazil, Cear��, Caucaia, Praia de Dois Coqueiros, 3 �� 41.28 ��� S 38 �� 36.55 ��� W, under rock, coll. Yan Timb��, 18. VI. 2011. One specimen (66 mm), MZUSP 0 0 0 10, Brazil, Cear��, Caucaia, Praia do Pacheco, 3 �� 41.11 ' S 38 �� 37.91 ' W, under rock, coll. Cecili Mendes, 18.VI. 2011. Diagnosis. Body long, not fragile; with irregular, interrupted orange and white longitudinal stripes, from head to tail; stripes can vary from light orange to red. Cephalic lobe (head) rounded, delimited posteriorly by neck-like constriction. Several ocelli along anterolateral margins of head. Mouth ventral, immediately posterior to cephalic lobe. Posterior extremity rounded, without caudal cirrus. Distribution. Western Atlantic: Cura��ao (Corr��a 1963); Europe (Spain and Italy), Cape Verde, Bermuda, Barbados, USA (Florida), and Puerto Rico (Gibson 1995); Belize (Collin et al. 2005); Brazil (S��o Paulo, Bahia [Gibson 1995] and Cear�� [present study]). Eastern Pacific: USA (Gulf of California) and Chile (Coe 1940). Western Pacific: Fiji Island, Mariana Island, Java Island, Torres Strait, Australia (Great Barrier Reef) and Japan (Gibson 1995). Indian: Java Island, Australia, Mauritius Islands and Zanzibar (Gibson 1995). Adriatic Sea and Mediterranean Sea (Gibson, 1995, Kajihara 2007). Ecology. Specimens in this study were littoral, under rocks. This species is reported from littoral and sublittoral zones to depths of 50 m or more, in various bottom types, under rocks and boulders on coarse clean to shelly or muddy sand, in crevices of rocks, on seagrass or algae, among sponges or other encrusting or colonial organism and corals (Gibson 1995). Remarks. This is one of the more widespread species of Nemertea, being recorded in both hemispheres, in tropical and subtropical waters, and extending to temperate latitudes (Gibson 1995). Taxonomic confusion is frequent, due to the wide geographical distribution, variability of color (bands can vary from orange, brown or green), many synonyms (especially Baseodiscus curtus and B. jonasii) and several changes in genus name. The disjunct distribution of this species and seemingly associated variation in color pattern may indicate a species complex and a need for a taxonomic revision of the taxon., Published as part of Mendes, Cecili B., Matthews-Cascon, Helena & Norenburg, Jon L., 2016, New records of ribbon worms (Nemertea) from Cear��, Northeast Brazil, pp. 146-156 in Zootaxa 4061 (2) on pages 149-151, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4061.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/263586, {"references":["Delle-Chiaje, S. (1825) Memorie sulla storia e notomia degli animali senza vertebre del regno di Napoli, 2 nd edition. Napoli: Societa Tipografica.","Quoy, J. R. C. & Gaimard, J. P. (1833) Voyage de decouvertes de l'Astrolabe execute par ordre du Roi, pendant les annees 1826 - 1827 - 1828 - 1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville, Zoologie. 4 th Edition. J. Tastu, Paris, 259 pp.","Quatrefages, A. (1846) Etude sur les types inferieurs de l'embranchement des anneles. Annales des sciences naturelles, Serie 3, Zoologie, 6, 173 - 303.","Hubrecht, A. A. W. (1879) The genera of European nemerteans critically revised, with description of several new species. Notes from the Leyden Museum, 1, 193 - 232.","Burger, O. (1890) Untersuchungen uber die Anatomie und Histologie der Nemertinen nebst Beitragen zur Systematik. Zeitschrift fur wissenschaftliche Zoologie, 50, 1 - 277.","Staub, J. (1900) Neue Nemertinen aus Amboina. Denkschriften der Medizinisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena, 8, 76 - 98.","Punnet, R. C. & Cooper, C. F. (1909) On some nemerteans from the eastern Indian Ocean. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 13 (2), 1 - 15.","Burger, O. (1904) Nemertini. Das Tierreich, 20, 1 - 151.","Stiasny-Wijnhoff, G. (1920) On a collection of nemerteans from Curacau. Bijdr Dierk, 24, 97 - 120.","Kajihara, H. (2007) Taxonomic catalogue of Japanese nemerteans (Phylum Nemertea). Zoological Science, 24, 287 - 326. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.2108 / zsj. 24.287","Burger, O. (1895) Die Nemertinen des Golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden Meeres - Abschnitte. Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel, 22, 1 - 743.","Correa, D. D. (1956) Estudo de Nemertinos Mediterraneos (Palaeo e Heteronemertini). Anais da Academia brasileira de ciencias, 28, 195 - 214.","Correa, D. D. (1958) Nemertinos do Litoral Brasileiro (VII). Anais da Academia brasileira de ciencias, 29 (3), 440 - 458.","Correa, D. D. (1961) Nemerteans from Florida and Virgin Islands. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 11, 1 - 44.","Correa, D. D. (1963) Nemerteans from Curacau. Studies on the Fauna of Curacau and other Caribbean islands, 17, 41 - 56.","Diesing, C. M. (1850) Systema Helminthum. Vol I. Vindobonae, Viena, 680 pp.","Coe, W. R. (1940) Revision of the nemertean fauna of the Pacific coasts of North, Central, and northern South America. Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions, 2, 247 - 322.","Coe, W. R. (1947) Nemerteans of the Hawaiian and Marshall Islands. Occasional Papers of Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, 19 (3), 101 - 106.","Coe, W. R. (1951) The nemertean faunas of the Gulf of Mexico and of southern Florida. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 1, 149 - 186.","Gibson, R. (1974) Histochemical observations on the localization of some enzymes associated with digestion in four species of Brazilian nemerteans. The Biological Bulletin, 147, 352 - 368. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.2307 / 1540454","Gibson, R. & Winsor, L. (1980) A posteriorly bifid specimen of the antarctic heteronemertean Parborlasia corrugatus (Mclntosh, 1876). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 47, 175 - 178. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1016 / 0022 - 0981 (80) 90110 - 0","Riser, N. W. (1991) New Zealand nemertines from kelp holdfasts: Heteronemertinea II. Notospermus geniculatus (Delle Chiaje, 1828) n. comb. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 18, 427 - 438. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 03014223.1991.10422849","Vernet, G. & Anadon, N. (1991) Littoral nemerteans from Spain. North and north-west Atlantic coasts species. Bollettino di zoologia, 58 (1), 91 - 93. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 11250009109355734","Gibson, R. (1995) Nemertean genera and species of the world: an annotated checklist of original names and description citations, synonyms, current taxonomic status, habitats and recorded zoogeographic distribution. Journal of Natural History, 29, 271 - 562. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222939500770161","Hochberg, F. G. & Lunianski, D. N. (1998) Nemertean collections at the Santa Barbara museum of Natural History: type specimens and vouchers for Wesley R. Coe's 1940 publication. Hydrobiologia, 365, 291 - 300. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1023 / A: 1003178404193","Gibson, R. & Sundberg, P. (2001) Some nemerteans (Nemertea) from Queensland and The Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zoological Science, 18, 1259 - 1273. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.2108 / zsj. 18.1259","Strand, M., Hjelmgren, A. & Sundberg, P. (2005) Genus Baseodiscus (Nemertea: Heteronemertea): molecular identification of a new species in a phylogenetic context. Journal of Natural History, 39 (44), 3785 - 3793. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222930500370952","McDermott, J. J. (2006) Nemerteans as hosts for symbionts: a review. Journal of Natural History, 40 (15 - 16), 1007 - 1020. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222930600834121","Lyimo, T. J., Mvungi, E. F. & Mgaya, Y. D. (2008) Abundance and diversity of seagrass and macrofauna in the intertidal areas with and without seaweed farming activities on the east coast of Zanzibar. Tanzania Journal of Science, 34, 41 - 52. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.4314 / tjs. v 34 i 1.44287","Wirtz, P. (2009) Ten new records of marine invertebrates from the Azores. Arquipelago. Life and Marine Sciences, 26, 45 - 49.","Magarlamov, T. Yu. & Chernyshev, A. V. (2011) The Structure of the proboscis musculature in Baseodiscus delineatus (Delle Chiaje, 1825) (Heteronemertea) and the comparative analysis of the proboscis musculature in heteronemerteans. Russian Journal of Marine Biology, 37 (6), 440 - 445. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1134 / S 1063074011060101"]} more...

Sixty five species in 21 genera are recorded from Turkey. The new species, Skorikovia anatolica Lelej, sp. nov. (Turkey), is described and illustrated. The hitherto unknown male is recognized for Pseudophotopsis schachruda (Skorikov). A new synonymy is proposed for Pseudophotopsis schachruda (Skorikov 1935) = Ephutomma schachruda var. robusta Skorikov 1935, syn. nov., E. mavromoustakisi Suárez 1959, syn. nov. A new status is proposed for Krombeinella gaullei (Invrea). The status is resurrected for Pseudophotopsis schachruda (Skorikov) and Dentilla erronea (André). Nine species are recorded for the first time from Turkey: Pseudophotopsis syriaca (André), Myrmilla anopla Skorikov, Tropidotilla semirufa (André), Mutilla richterae Lelej, Skorikovia radoszkovskii (Skorikov), S. transcaucasica (Lelej), Smicromyrme azerbaidzhanicus Lelej, S. novaki Invrea, and S. rufipes (Fabricius). Krombeinella gaullei (Invrea) is recorded for the first time from Bulgaria. Eleven species and one subspecies are excluded from the list of Turkish fauna. A key to five Palaearctic species of Skorikovia is given. A tabular checklist for the mutillid fauna of Turkey, Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia includes 106 species and four subspecies. A cluster analysis of faunal similarities among these countries for Mutillidae produce two major clusters (index similarity 0.4): Turkey and Greece (bootstrap probability 95 %), and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia (bootstrap probability 90 %), and demonstrates the important boundary between two large biogeographical subregions of Palaearctic: Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian. The Turkish fauna, especially its eastern part, is the transitional zone between these subregions. The mutillid fauna of Turkey consists of widely distributed in the Mediterranean (21), East Mediterranean (28), widely distributed in the Palaearctic (three) and Anatolian-Armenian (13) species, including five endemic species. The highest number of species is known from the Anatolian biogeographical province of Turkey: 55. more...

Of 45 species of nemerteans reported for the Brazilian coast, only two were recorded from Brazil’s Northeast coast. Here we report seven new records for the state of Ceará, in Northeast Brazil: Tubulanus rhabdotus Côrrea, 1954, Carinomella cf. lactea Coe, 1905, Baseodiscus delineatus (Delle-Chiaje 1825), Cerebratulus cf. lineolatus Coe, 1905, Cerebratulus sp. 1, Cerebratulus sp. 2 and Lineidae sp. 1. Specimens were collected at the following beaches: Praia dos Dois Coqueiros, Praia do Pacheco, Pecém harbor, Praia da Pedra Rachada and Praia do Guajiru. T. rhabdotus is a new record for Northeast Brazil, Carinomella cf. lactea and Cerebratulus cf. lineolatus are new records for the South Atlantic Ocean and both genera are new records for Brazil. more...

Based on specimens collected subtidally (similar to 10 m in depth) in Tomioka Bay, Japan, we describe the palaeonemertean Tubulanus tamias sp. nov., which differs from all its congeners in body coloration. In molecular phylogenetic analyses based on partial sequences of the nuclear 18S and 28S rRNA genes and histone H3, as well as the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I genes, among selected palaeonemerteans, T. tamias nested with part of the congeners in Tubulanus, while the genus as currently diagnosed appears to be non-monophyletic. Molecular cloning detected polymorphism in 28S rDNA sequences in a single individual of T. tamias, indicating incomplete concerted evolution of multiple copies. Tubulanus tamias is peculiar among tubulanids in having 9-10 pigment-cup eyes in the epidermis on either side of the head anterior to the cerebral sensory organs, and remarkably there are two types of eyes. The anterior 8-9 pairs of eyes, becoming larger from anterior to posterior, are completely embedded in the epidermis and proximally abutting the basement membrane; each pigment cup contains bundle of up to seven, rod-shaped structure that resemble a rhabdomeric photoreceptor cell. In contrast, the posterior-most pair of eyes, larger than most of the anterior ones, have an optical cavity filled with long cilia and opening to the exterior, thus appearing to have ciliary-type photoreceptor cells. The size and arrangement of the eyes indicate that the posterior-most pair of eyes are the remnant of the larval (or juvenile) eyes. more...

Nemerteans possess serially arranged gonads that lie between the midgut pouches. In both sexes the gonads are lined with an epithelium. During maturity, they gain contact to the exterior by a ciliated duct, which is generally assumed to be a derivative of the gonad. Gonad lining and sperm ultrastructure are little known in heteronemerteans, a group of nemerteans belonging to the Anopla, one of the two large nemertean subgroups. Reproduction biology in heteronemertean Lineus viridis allows predicting a modified sperm type, so-called introsperm for this taxon. Nothing is known on the fate of the testes at the end of the reproductive period of this perennial species. In order to test the predictions and to broaden the data base, males of L. viridis were collected at different times of the year. Histological and ultrastructural data show that the gonad wall is lined with different aciliated endothelial cells and germ cells, while the gonoduct is formed by densely ciliated cells. The testes are completely filled with sperm cells during maturity; there is no hint at ongoing spermiogenesis at this time. The sperm consists of head, midpiece and tail. Externally, head and midpiece cannot be discriminated. The acrosome is cup-shaped and lies anterior to the nucleus which contains 6–8 lateral ridges. Three long mitochondria mark the midpiece. They line the posterior section of the nucleus and extend up to the level of the ciliary basal structures. The sperm morphology corroborates the predictions derived from the mode of reproduction. At the end of the reproductive period the male gonads change cellular composition, while the gonoduct degenerates. Provided that both sexes show the same growth rate, male offspring acquire sexual maturity earlier than female offspring, since L. viridis males are always smaller than the females. In contrast to the males, females keep their gonads and gonoducts during most time of the year. Since large males were never found within the studied population, these data indicate that L. viridis might be a consecutive hermaphrodite. more...

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was localized as brown color in different tissues of an undescribed species of the nemertean genus Cephalothrix (phylum Nemertea) and a turbellarian Planocera reticulata (phylum Platyhelminthes) on light microscopy by means of a monoclonal anti-TTX antibody. In the Cephalothrix sp., TTX was recognized in the vesicles apically arranged in the bacillary cells in the epidermis, basal lamina, the granular cells in the proboscis epithelium, rhynchocoel epithelium, and the vesicles in the basal portion of the intestinal wall near the blood vessels and rhynchocoel. The excretory system and the ovum also showed positive reaction of TTX antigen-antibody. On the other hand, the hermaphrodite flatworm P. reticulata exhibited TTX antigen-antibody complex only in their ovum. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental effort on micro-distribution of TTX in invertebrates. more...

The paper includes a description of Hubrechtella juliae sp. nov. from Peter the Great Bay. Based on the paraphyly of the family Hubrechtiidae s.l., we propose to combine the genera Hubrechtella, Tetramys, and Coelia into the family Hubrechtellidae fam. nov. more...

Two different types of glandular system in the proboscidial epithelium of Riseriellus occultus have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. As expected, most of the epithelial cells are glandular in nature. With regard to differences in the ultrastructure of these gland cells and in the formation and morphology of their secretory granules, we have categorized and described four types of gland cell, indicated as G1, G2, G3, and G4. Each gland cell has a completely intraepithelial body characterized by a prominent nucleus, developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complexes, and numerous secretory granules at different stages of maturation. These four types of gland cell appear associated in pairs forming numerous glandular systems of two types (A, B). These glandular systems are restricted to the ventral surface of the proboscis and are scattered irregularly throughout its length. Each glandular system consists of two gland cells of different types. The gland cell necks in each glandular system extend together to the epithelial surface; they protrude onto this and form a papilla where they open in a common area. The epithelial supportive cells adjacent to the glandular systems have long, stout microvilli which have a core of tonofilaments. These tonofilaments gather into dense bundles which pass vertically through the supportive cells and attach to the extracellular matrix underlaying the cells by hemidesmosomes. Moreover, a single sensory process stands close to each papilla. The ultrastructural morphology of the type A glandular systems suggests that they have an adhesive function operating in a similar way to that of the duo-gland adhesive systems in other invertebrate groups, although they are not homologous with these. The spatial arrangement of the secreted products of the type B glandular systems suggests that these may contribute to increasing the grip of the proboscis on the prey. The secretory granules (=pseudocnids) of the type G3 gland cells are very likely an autapomorphy of the Anopla, providing a character by which the relationships within the Nemertea can be evaluated. more...

Spermatogenesis and sperm structure of the nemertine wormProcephalothrix sp. were studied by transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that a flagellum and proacrosomal vesicles are common in spermatogonia and spermatocytes as in spermatogenesis of a number of marine invertebrates with external fertilization. Originally, the animals were collected asProcephalothrix spiralis but they were found to have a type of spermatozoon different from that ofP. spiralis as described by Turbeville & Ruppert (1985). The re-identification of the material collected in the Japan Sea has shown that the features are characteristic, ofP. spiralis (Coe, 1930). This finding suggests thatP. spiralis shows variations in different parts of the world. more...

Specimens of the common intertidal nemerteans Lineus ruber and L. viridis were collected fromsites along the west and Southwest coasts of Britain,northern France and North America. Allele frequenciesof up to 13 putative enzyme loci were estimated forall populations of L. ruber and L.viridis. Estimates of genetic variation were low forpopulations of L. ruber (Hobs 0.008–0.052)but were higher for populations of L. viridis(Hobs 0.068–0.153). Exacttests for conformity of observed genotype frequenciesto those expected under Hardy-Weinberg equilibriumfailed to detect significant deviations for L.ruber or L. viridis. F-statistics wereaffected by small sample size and low expected valuesin some populations, but, FST wassignificantly different from zero for most lociexamined for both Lineus ruber and L.viridis. This indicated a significant degree ofpopulation structuring for both species (only amoderate level of gene-flow). Intraspecificcomparisons of genetic distance and genetic identityshowed little evidence of genetic differentiationbetween populations separated by large geographicdistances (1000s of km). There was no apparentrelationship between genetic distance betweenpopulations and the geographic distance separatingthem. Possible explanations for this lack of geneticdifferentiation between populations of L. ruberand L. viridis are discussed. These include alack of variation in the enzyme loci sampled caused bypopulation dynamics, balancing selection in the enzymeloci sampled, large introductions between populationsand passive dispersal. more...

Lineus ruber and L. viridis are common intertidal heteronemerteans found on the coasts of northern Europe and the east coast of North America. The two species resemble each other morphologically and were synonymised for many years prior to being separated on the basis of larval development. In this study, specimens of L. ruber and L. viridis were collected from sites along the west and southwest coast of Britain, northern France and the east coast of North America. The external morphology and allele frequencies of isozymes of the two species were compared from all sites. The external morphology of L. ruber and L. viridis was similar but they could generally be separated by colour. Allele frequencies for up to 13 enzyme loci between sympatric populations of L. ruber and L. viridis indicated that these two species are genetically very different (Nei's genetic identity=0.090 to 0.083). Allele-frequency data also indicated the presence of a third genetic type occurring sympatrically with populations of both L. ruber and L. viridis on the coasts of Britain and France but not on the coast of North America. Fixed differences in allele frequencies between populations of the third genetic type and sympatric populations of L. ruber and L. viridis were observed across multiple loci. Genetic identity between the third genetic type and sympatric populations of L. ruber and L. viridis were extremely low (Nei's genetic identity = more...

— A cladistic analysis based on 50 morphological characters was performed for 49 of the 98 species currently assigned to the subclass Palaeonemertea (phylum Nemertea), and six additional undescribed species. Thirty-five species were excluded from the parsimony analysis because of the high number of unknowns in the character matrix, and one species since it was considered a nomen nudum. An initial analysis suggested that the subclass Hoplonemertea is the sistergroup to the clade Palaeo- and Heteronemertea and the ingroup cladograms are rooted using a paraphyletic outgroup based on this information. Seventy-two equally most parsimonious cladograms were found; the consistency index was low but tree-length distribution for the character set is skewed to the left, and the cladograms are invariably shorter than trees based on random data. These cladograms suggested a character transformation series for the cerebral organ where this complex character reappeared several times after being absent. We considered this biologically implausible and the final discussion is based on three cladograms, one step longer than the most parsimonious, where the evolution of this character appears to be more realistic. The cladistic analysis indicates that many previously recognized genera (e.g. Cephalothrix, Procephalothrix and Cephalotrichella), and higher taxa, are paraphyletic. It furthermore indicates that the previously suggested hypothesis of the Archinemertea as a monophyletic sistertaxon to Palaeonemertea is unsupported. more...

The spermatozoan from testes of Cephalothrix rufifrons consists of an elongated, straight head 13–14 μm long with a flattened anterior acrosome and a 12.5-μm-long nucleus. Placed along one side of the nucleus, is a single tubular 7-μm-long mitochondrion. There is no midpiece, but immediately posterior to the nucleus are two centrioles. The tail is at least one and a half times the length of the head. Mature sperm cells were also found in the oviducts of mature females which, combined with the modified structure of the sperm cell, indicates that sperm is transferred during pseudocopulation. more...

Previous studies on the palaeonemertean Tubulanus annulatus have hinted on possible geographic variation, or even a species complex. This study describes the variation in morphology, focusing on the characters that have been supposed to vary geographically. Specimens from the Swedish west coast (Tjarno and Kristineberg), Scottish west coast (Millport), and the Mediterranean (Naples and Split) were included in the study. It is concluded that the pattern of variation in the studied characters do not correspond to geography and most of the character states previously thought to vary geographically are in fact found within one and the same population. more...

Cantell, Carl-Erik (2005): On the anatomy of a new species of Oxypolella (Nemertini) and further notes on Oxypolella bergendali Cantell 1975. Journal of Natural History 39 (2): 123-132, DOI: 10.1080/00222930310001657847, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222930310001657847 more...

The study reports 14 foliicolous fungi collected from the Achankovil forest region of Kollam district in Kerala State, India. These fungi belong to five genera, namely, Asteridiella (1), Asterina (3), Asterostomella (1), Colemaniella (1) and Meliola (8). The genus Colemaniella showed its extended distribution, while, Asterina and Meliola appear to be abundant in the forest region. more...

Callinera monensis sp. n., from Derbyhaven Harbour in the Islc of Man, is described and illustrated. The anatomy of the species is compared and contrasted with that of the other known members of the genus, Callinera buergeri Bcrgcndal and C. buergeri f. grandis Bergendal, from Scandinavian waters;f. grandis is afforded separate specific status as C. grandis Bcrgcndal. more...

A new species of archinemertean, Procephalothrix hermaphroditicus, is fully described and illustrated from specimens collected intertidally at Cocholgue and Metri, Chile. The species is both the first member of the genus to be reported from Chilean waters, and the first recorded hermaphroditic archinemertean. The systematics of the genus and its contained species are discussed. more...

Kajihara, Hiroshi (2006): Four palaeonemerteans (Nemertea: Anopla) from a tidal flat in middle Honshu, Japan. Zootaxa 1163: 1-47, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2645302, {"references":["Bergendal, D. (1900a) Studier ofver nemertiner. I. Callinera burgeri Bergendal, en representant for ett afvikande slagte bland Palaonemertinerna. Lunds Universitets Arsskrift, 36, 1-47.","Bergendal, D. (1900b) Till kannedomen om de nordiska Nemertinerna. Ofversigt af Kongliga Vetenskaps-Akademiens Forhandlingar, 57, 581-602.","Bergendal, D. (1900c) Uber ein Paar sehr eigenthumliche nordische Nemertinen. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 23, 313-328.","Bergendal, D. (1901) Studier ofver nemertiner. I. Callinera burgeri Bergendal, en representant for ett afvikande slagte bland Palaonemertinerna. Lunds Universitets Arsskrift, 37, 49-116.","Bergendal, D. (1902a) Zur Kenntnis der nordischen Nemertinen. 2. Eine der construierten Urnemertine entsprechende Palaeonemerine aus dem Meere der schwedischen Westkuste. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 25, 421-432.","Bergendal, D. (1902b) Zur Kenntniss der nordischen Nemertinen. Bergens Museums Arbog, 4, 1- 22.","Bergendal, D. (1903) Till kannedomen om de nordiska Nemertinerna. 4. Forteckning ofver vid Sveriges vestkust iakttagna Nemertiner. Arkiv for Zoologi, 1, 85-156.","Burger, O. (1892) Zur Systematik der Nemertinenfauna des Golfs von Neapel. Nachrichten von der Koniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften und der Georg-Augusts-Universitat zu Gottingen, 5, 137-178.","Burger, O. (1904a) Nemertini. Das Tierreich, 20, 1-151.","Burger, O. (1904b) Nemertinen. Resultats du voyage du S. Y. Belgica en 1897-1899, Zoologie, 1- 10.","Burger, O. (1897-1907) Nemertini (Schnurwurmer). In: Bronn, H. G. (Ed.), Klassen und Ordnungen des Tier-Reichs, wissenschaftlich dargestellt in Wort und Bild, Vierter Band, Supplement. C. F. 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(2002) A new nemertean, Callinera zhirmunskyi sp. n., from the Pacific coast of Canada and a discussion of the taxonomic status of the family Callineridae. Biologiya Morya, 28, 143-146.","Chernyshev, A. V. (2003) A new species of the genus Hubrechtella (Nemertea, Anopla) from the Sea of Japan and establishment of the family Hubrechtellidae. Biologiya Morya, 29, 368-370. [In Russian with English abstract]","Friedrich, H. (1935a) Carinina poseidoni n. sp., eine neue Palaeonemertine aus der Nordsee. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 109, 64-72.","Friedrich, H. (1935b) Studien zur Morphologie, Systematik und Okologie der Nemertinen der Kieler Bucht. Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, N. F., 4, 293-375.","Friedrich, H. (1970) Nemertinen aus Chile. Sarsia, 40, 1-80.","Gibson, R. (1979a) Nemerteans of the Great Barrier Reef. 1. Anopla Palaeonemertea. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 65, 305-337.","Gibson, R. (1979b) Hubrechtella malabarensis sp. nov. 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The sterol fraction from the marine worm Linneus torquatus Coe (phylum Nemertini, class Anopla, family Lineidae) has been isolated, separated by HPLC and preparative TLC on AgNO3-impregnated silica gel, and sterols identified using GC, GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that the fraction contains at least 12 sterols belonging mainly to Δ5,22, Δ5,24(28) and Δ5 series. The major sterol components were 24-methylcholesta-5,24(28)-dien-3β-ol, cholesta-5,22E-dien-3β-ol, 24-nor-cholesta-5,22-dien-3β-ol and cholesterol. more...

We estimated the phylogenetic relationships of 15 nemertean (phylum Nemertea) species from the four subclasses Hoplo-, Hetero-, Palaeo-, and Bdellonemertea with 18S rDNA sequence data. Three outgroup taxa were used for rooting: Annelida, Platyhelminthes, and Mollusca. Parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses supported the monophyletic status of the Heteronemertea and a taxon consisting of hoplonemerteans and Bdellonemertea, while indicating that Palaeonemertea is paraphyletic. The monophyletic status of the two nemertean classes Anopla and Enopla is not supported by the data. The unambiguous clades are well supported, as assessed by a randomization test (bootstrapping) and branch support values. more...

Riserius pugetensis gen. n., sp. n. is described from the northwest coast of Washington, U.S.A. It is probably a heteronemertine and, as such, would be the first known mesopsammic member of that order; it lives in the interstices of medium to coarse, moderately clean sands. Its morphology presents some attributes considered characteristic of mesopsammic fauna. The effect of some of these attributes is a generalized appearance of anatomical ‘simplicity’ and, as with other mesopsammic metazoans, this presents difficulties in distinguishing between primitiveness and reduction. In the new species such problematic features include the lack of subepidermal glandular cells and connective tissue, reduced proboscideal musculature, simple blood-vascular system, and the presence of a ‘secondary’, outer circular musculature in the body wall. The general appearance of this new species is very similar to the so-called palaeonemertine Hubrechtella and characteristics of both suggest relationship with the baseodiscid heteronemertines. These relationships are explored in light of a modified interpretation of proboscideal musculature, a traditional cornerstone of heteronemertinean taxonomy. more...

The anoplan order Heteronemertea, particularly the genera Cerebratulus, Lineus and Micrura,contains a very large number of nominate species, many of which are inadequately described. As a consequence, systematic difficulties are encountered with the identification of many taxa in this group, especially those originally established primarily on the basis of their external features. The present paper concerns heteronemerteans collected from two locations, the Foz Estuary (north-western Spain) and Llandudno (North Wales). The Spanish collection included specimens identified as Lineus longissimus (Gunnerus), whilst samples from Llandudno contained large numbers of Lineus viridis (Muller); samples of a third similar but apparently undescribed species were found at both locations. Starch gel electrophoresis showed that samples of the apparent third species were genetically almost identical from each of the two locations, but were clearly different from the two described Lineus species. Histological studies of the unknown specimens revealed anatomical characters, including the unique feature of a proboscis epithelium ciliated throughout its length, which exclude it from any known heteronemertean taxon; it is accordingly placed in a new genus and species, for which the name Riseriellus occultus is proposed. more...

Nine species of lineid heteronemerteans are recorded from the Great Barrier Reef province of Australia. Six of these are new species, including four new genera, and are fully described and illustrated. These are Aetheorhynchus actitesgen. et sp. nov., Bennettiainsularisgen. et sp. nov., Cerebratulus magnetkus sp. nov., Colemania albulus gen. et sp. nov., Mkrura tridacnae sp. nov. and Quasilineus pulcherrimus gen. ct sp. nov. Lineus tricuspidatus (Quoy & Gaimard) is re-established, illustrated and described. Gorgonorhynchus repens Dakin & Fordham and Parborlasia hutchingsi Gibson have been fully described elsewhere, but a full list of known locations is provided. more...

Two new palaeonemerteans, Carinoma patriciaesp. nov., and Hubrechtella queenslandicasp. nov., from the Great Barrier Reef province of Australia, are described and illustrated. The systematic relationships of these nemerteans are discussed and emended diagnoses are given for the genera Carinoma (Carinomidae) and Hubrechtella (Hubrechtidae). more...

1. A comparative study has been made of the food, feeding mechanisms, gut structure, digestive physiology and food reserves of representative species from three of the four orders of Rhynchocoela (Anopla: Palaeonemertini and Heteronemertini; Enopla: Hoplonemertini).2. Polychaete or oligochaete annelids form the staple diet in the Anopla and one species of Enopla. Amphiporus lactifloreus (Enopla) is exceptional in that it feeds exclusively on the amphipod crustacean Gammarus locusta.3. Living prey are captured by means of the proboscis, but inert or dead foods, when taken, are ingested directly without proboscis eversion.4. In the Hoplonemertini the proboscis is armed with stylets and toxic secretions which kill the prey before ingestion, and a forerunner of this system is seen in the Palaeonemertini where minute epithelial barbs perforate the prey's integument to allow entry of paralyzing substances. In the Heteronemertini, though, the prey is swallowed alive and killed by acid secretions in the foregut.5... more...