Itaipusa karlingi Mack-Fira, 1968

Diez, Yander L., Monnens, Marlies, Aguirre, Rosa Isabel, Yurduseven, Rana, Jouk, Philippe, Van Steenkiste, Niels W. L., Leander, Brian S., Schockaert, Ernest, Reygel, Patrick, Smeets, Karen & Artois, Tom, 2021, Taxonomy and phylogeny of Koinocystididae (Platyhelminthes, Kalyptorhynchia) with the description of three new genera and twelve new species, Zootaxa 4948 (4), pp. 451-500 : 457-459

Itaipusa karlingi Mack-Fira, 1968

( Fig. 1D–E )

Known distribution. Several localities in Romania, Black Sea ( Mack-Fira 1968, 1974). Toulon and Le Brusc, France ( Brunet 1972). Lussin Grande, Croatia ( Karling 1980).

New records and material. Observations on live specimens. Two whole mounts (HU XIII.2.49– XIII.2.50) from Punta Negra (40°57’12”N, 08°13’43”E), Stintino , Sardinia, Italy (September 9, 2018), on silty algae, 0.5 m deep, salinity 40 ‰. Three whole mounts (HU XIII.3.01– XIII.3.04) and two serially-sectioned specimens (HU XIII.3.05– XIII.3.06) from a sheltered beach at the south of Orzola (29°13’23”N; 13°27’05”W), Lanzarote, Canary Islands (October 6, 2011), medium-coarse sand with holes from burrowing animals, taken at low tide, just below the water line, one specimen collected at the same previous mentioned conditions but the sand was covered by a green organic material, salinity 35 ‰.

Remarks. Habitus and general organisation of the newly-collected specimens as described by Mack-Fira (1968) and Karling (1980). Sardinian specimens are 0.8–0.9 mm long and the specimens from Lanzarote are 1–1.4 mm long (x̄ = 1.1 mm; n = 3). The syncytial epidermis is 3–4 μm thick, fully ciliated. Rhabdites distributed over the entire surface, 1–2 μm long, most of them stain pinkish in sections, few are stained black. Cilia 4 μm long.

The proboscis is 15% of the body length in live animals. It has the typical koinocystidid morphology (see Brunet 1972; Karling 1980), with a strong juncture sphincter. Only two pairs of integument retractors were observed: a ventral and a dorsal one.

The pharynx morphology does not deviate from that of Itaipusa divae (see above). The pharynx is located at 40% and its diameter represents 15% of the body length in live animals. A sphincter surrounds the mouth. Four types of glands open close to each other in the distal part of the pharynx lumen: three types of eosinophilic glands with a coarse-grained secretion (staining dark pink, pinkish, and brownish, respectively) and one type of basophilic glands with a coarse-grained secretion (staining dark purple).

The oviform copulatory bulb ( Fig. 1D–E : cb) is 174–184 μm long (x̄ = 179 μm; n = 2) in the specimens from Sardinia and 188–213 μm long (x̄ = 200 μm; n = 3) in the specimens from Lanzarote. The copulatory bulb encloses the prostate vesicle, the armed cirrus, and more distally a sclerotised penis papilla. Two types of filiform gland ducts containing a coarse-grained secretion (eosinophilic and basophilic) occur in the prostate vesicle. The cirrus bears two spiny belts, armed with scale-like spines provided with 1-μm-long apical denticles. The proximal spiny belt ( Fig. 1D–E : cir1) in the Sardinian specimens is 106–127 μm long (x̄ = 117 μm; n = 2), with the lateral spines 2– 5 μm long (x̄ = 3 μm; n = 12), those more in the middle of the row 7–9 μm long (x̄ = 8 μm; n = 20). In the specimens from Lanzarote the proximal spiny belt is 138–153 μm long (x̄ = 146 μm; n = 2), with the lateral spines 3–5 μm long (x̄ = 4 μm; n = 12) and the central ones 8–10 μm long (x̄ = 9 μm; n = 10). The distal spiny belt ( Fig. 1D : cir2) is 41–58 μm long (x̄ = 50 μm; n = 2) in the specimens from Sardinia and does not show marked differences in the length of the spines, each measuring 3–5 μm (x̄ = 4 μm; n = 20). In the specimens from Lanzarote the distal belt is 59–75 μm long (x̄ = 66 μm; n = 2), with spines 4–5 μm long (x̄ = 5 μm; n = 10). The penis papilla ( Fig. 1D–E : pp) is 34–43 μm long (x̄ = 39 μm; n = 2) and 31–34 μm wide (x̄ = 33 μm; n = 2) in the specimens from Sardinia and 41–48 μm long (x̄ = 45 μm; n = 3) and 25–48 μm wide (x̄ = 39 μm; n = 3) in the specimens from Lanzarote.

The uterus enters the common atrium rostro-ventrally. There are no sphincters surrounding the distal part of the uterus. It is lined by a nucleated epithelium and surrounded by longitudinal muscles. Three types of glands open into the uterus: one producing a very coarse-grained eosinophilic secretion, and two producing an eosinophilic secretion (fine-grained and coarse-grained, respectively). The bursal stalk shows the typical sclerotised membranes described for the species (see Mack-Fira 1974; Karling 1980). The female duct opens into the bursa through the typical strong sphincter.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A–C, Itaipusa divae Marcus, 1949. A, sagittal reconstruction of the pharynx from the left hand side. B–C, copulatory bulb (specimens from Cuba and Panama, respectively). D–E, Itaipusa karlingi Mack-Fira, 1968. D, copulatory bulb. E, cirrus and penis papilla. A–B with proximal end toward top of figure, C–E with proximal end toward left of figure.