Anamenia gorgonophila (Kowalesky, 1880)

Neomenia gorgonophila Kowalevsky, 1880: 190 .

Anamenia gorgonophila – Nierstrasz 1908: 11.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Corsica (France) • 1 specimen (used for sclerite preparations, DNA extraction and histology); CORSICABENTHOS 3 (Table 2); 50 m depth; MNHN-IM-2019-18270; GenBank: OR456217; OR458914 (1 microscope slide with sclerites, 44 slides with 5 µm serial sections).

DESCRIPTION

Relatively large animal (30 × 2 mm), without keels or protrusions and with rounded body ends. Brown (Fig. 3B) to a lighter yellowish color after fixation (Fig. 3 B’). Sclerites hollow, acicular, slightly curved and with a wide variety of sizes (125-325 × 18-20 µm). Knife-like scales of the pedal groove (80-90 × 30-40 µm). Foregut very glandular in its anterior region (Fig. 14C). Radula with two transverse rows (Fig. 14D, D’) bearing around seven denticles each. Ventrolateral foregut glands of type B / Imeroherpia type (Fig. 14D, D’). With abdominal spicules (Fig. 14E) and one dorso-terminal sensory organ.

REMARKS

This is a commonly encountered species that is easy to identify based on external aspect and habitus, as it is frequently found coiled on corals. The specimens studied here were found on a colony of Paramuricea sp. ( Anthozoa, Octocorallia) (Fig. 3B) at a depth of 50 m, which corresponds to the information available for the species, that can be found epizootic on several species of octocorals in depths between 60 and 900 m (compiled in García-Álvarez et al. 2014). This together with the external appearance (animals up to 20 mm long, brownish, or yellow) and the sclerites (long acicular sclerites, and knife-shaped scales in the pedal groove region) facilitated the identification. The information obtained from the histological sections also corresponds with what was previously described (Thiele 1902; Pedrouzo et al. 2014; Martínez-Sanjuán et al. 2022). With the specimen included here, we expand its known distribution in the Mediterranean Sea.