Elysia margaritae Fez 1962
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad086 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BF216A-FFD0-FFAA-FC66-FBC7FBFC0F1C |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Elysia margaritae Fez 1962 |
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Elysia margaritae Fez 1962 View in CoL
( Figs 4G, H View Figure 4 , 7I, J View Figure 7 )
Type material: Elysia margaritae —untraceable.
Material examined: MNCN15.05 View Materials /90816, one specimen, dissected, 5 mm preserved length, Santa María al Bagno, Lecce , Italy, (40° 7ʹ 14.1ʹʹ N, 17° 59ʹ 56.68ʹʹ E), April 2018 GoogleMaps ; MNCN15.05 View Materials /90817, one specimen, dissected, 7.5 mm preserved length, Torre Lapillo, Lecce, Italy, (40º 16ʹ 51.10ʹʹ N, 17º 50ʹ 26.63ʹʹ E), May 2015 GoogleMaps ; MNCN15.05 View Materials /94854, one specimen, dissected, 15 mm length alive, Otranto, Lecce, Italy, (40º 9ʹ 11.45ʹʹ N, 18º 29ʹ 31.14ʹʹ E), May 2021 GoogleMaps . All specimens were collected by Fabio Vitale in infralittoral zone from 1 to 15 m depth.
External morphology:
Adults with maximum length of 15 mm (present study). Overall coloration greenish, lighter on dorsum and plantar side, with small light-blue spots irregularly arranged on outer and inner sides of parapodia and on the head. Some scattered white dots may also be present on head and sides of parapodia. Body relatively long and wide. Small eyes located behind the rhinophores. Rhinophores relatively long, rolled with a truncated apex and uniform with body colour.
Dorsal renopericardial prominence rounded with two ‘vessels’ radiating from each side, branching irregularly on the inner face of each parapodium. Large parapodia extending to posterior end of body, with undulated edges. Foot sole slightly narrowing to the rounded posterior end of body.
Internal anatomy:
Pharynx large and oesophagus with a smaller muscular pouch. Radulawith14–15 teeth (MNCN15.05/90817), fourinascending limb and seven in descending limb with three to four discarded teeth in the ascus (not shown). Leading tooth is about 125 μm long with blade-shaped cusp bearing at least 31 very small, rounded denticles ( Fig. 7I, J View Figure 7 ). Shallow housing depression for interlocking teeth extending half total tooth length ( Fig. 7K View Figure 7 ). Base of tooth approximately one-third of total tooth length. Penis elongate and cone-shaped, devoid of stylet with a narrow and thin vas deferens.
Geographical distribution:
Species known from the eastern Atlantic, specifically from the port of Valencia, Spain ( Fez 1962); Banyuls-sur-Mer, France [specimen identified as Elysia translucens # 845 in Christa et al. (2014b); present study]; the western and eastern coast of the Puglia region, Italy ( Furfaro et al. 2020; present study).
Remarks:
The type locality of E. margaritae (port of Valencia, eastern coast of Spain) has been modified by anthropogenic impacts since De Fez (1962) found three large specimens of this species. The lack of specimens collected in this area has suggested some doubts about its true taxonomic identity. The three specimens of E. margaritae of this study were collected in Lecce, south-eastern Italy, and those sequenced clustered phylogenetically with one more specimen from GenBank previously identified as E. translucens collected in Banyuls-sur-Mer, France (Mediterranean Sea).
In agreement with the original description of E. margaritae , the author identified radular teeth with a smooth lower cutting edge in the dissected specimen, but in contrast fine and small denticles were noted by SEM along the edge in the present work ( Fig. 7I, J View Figure 7 ). They probably went unnoticed in observations using binocular magnifying glass.
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