Antrosagittifera corallina Hooge and Tyler, 2001

Hooge, Matthew D. & Tyler, Seth, 2007, Acoela (Acoelomorpha) from Belize, Zootaxa 1479 (1), pp. 21-33 : 31

Antrosagittifera corallina Hooge and Tyler, 2001

Material. Living specimens in squeeze preparation.

Locality. The west side of Carrie Bow Cay (16°48’09” N, 88°04’55” W), from the leaves of Thalassia sp.

Description. Mature, unsqueezed specimens ~ 700 µm long and ~ 200 µm wide ( Fig. 9A ). Anterior and posterior ends rounded. Greenish-brown color conferred by numerous zooxanthellae. Paired strands of oocytes extend posteriorly to seminal bursa with distinctively shaped bursal nozzle ( Fig. 9B ). Male gonopore subterminal at posterior end. Long male antrum opens to walled seminal vesicle. Longest and most easily visible sagittocysts at posterior end of body, behind seminal vesicle ( Fig. 9C ). Remarks. This is the first finding of A. corallina outside of its type locality in Bermuda ( Hooge & Tyler 2001). While specimens collected in Bermuda were found in coarse coral sand, the Belize specimens seemed to be exclusively associated with Thalassia sp.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Antrosagittifera corallina; photomicrographs of living specimen. A. Dorsal view of lightly squeezed specimen. B. Bursal nozzle. C. Sagittocysts at posterior end of animal.