Pleioplana californica ( Plehn, 1897 )

Rodríguez, Jorge, Grande, Cristina, Bulnes, NataliaVeronica, Almon, Bruno, Perez, Jacinto & Noreña, Carolina, 2017, Systematic revision of the family Pleioplanidae Faubel, 1983 (Polycladida, Acotylea): new genus and combinations, European Journal of Taxonomy 264, pp. 1-30 : 18-19

Pleioplana californica ( Plehn, 1897)

Fig. 5D

Leptoplana californica Plehn, 1897: 93 , table 5, figs 1–2.

Stylochoplana plehni Bock, 1913: 80 .

Leptoplana californica – Plehn 1899: 451, fig. B.

Pleioplana californica – Faubel 1983: 117.

Stylochoplana plehni – Hyman 1953: 305.

Type locality

USA: Monterey Bay, Monterey, California.

Description

Body shape elongated. Cryptic colour. Opaque dorsal appearance. Longitudinal median line not outstanding. Homogeneous mottled background with spots and dots. Smooth dorsal surface. Nuchal tentacles absent. Tentacular knobs present. Marginal eyes absent. Tentacles absent; instead tentacular eyes present in rounded and compact clusters. Dorsal and ventral frontal eyes absent. Cerebral eyes in two clusters. Pharynx located in second or last body third, strongly ruffled and ventrally oriented. Oral pore position in second body third and in posterior region of pharynx. Intestine with numerous branches without anastomosis. Intestinal vesicles absent. Male and female gonopores located in a common pore.

MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Single male pore. Male apparatus not enclosed within muscular bulb, oriented backwards and located in last body third. Ejaculatory duct with straight stylet. Prostatic vesicle interpolated. Connection between ejaculatory duct and prostatic vesicle with projection. Internal glandular lining of prostatic vesicle with tubular chambers. Extravesicular prostatic secretion. Prostatic glands located at the proximal end of the prostatic vesicle. Seminal vesicle simple or spindle-like. Spermiducal bulbs present.

FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Vagina elongated, tube-like, looping towards the male complex. Enlarged Lang’s vesicle. Paired uterus. One pair of uterine vesicles. Tube-like cement chamber. Endolecithal eggs.

Biology

Found during low tide between rocks and sand.

Distribution

California, USA.

Note

Pleioplana inquieta Heath & McGregor, 1912 , considered synonymous with P. californica by Hyman (1953).According to Hyman, P. inquieta not only shows the same morphological features as P.californica , but also shares the same habitat and distribution, namely Monterey Bay, California. Therefore, in this review, P. inquieta is considered a synonym of P. californica .

Figures

Fig. 5. Schematic representations comparing the copulatory apparatus. A. Pleioplana automata (O.F. Müller, 1776). B. P. mortenseni (Bock, 1913). C. P. delicata (Yeri & Kaburaki, 1918). D. P. californica (Plehn, 1898). E. P. bosphorensis Bulnes, Kalkan, & Karhan, 2009. F. P. okusi Bulnes, Kalkan, & Karhan, 2009. G. Izmira cinari Bulnes, 2010. H. I. turkeyi Bulnes, 2010. I. Persica qeshmensis Maghsoudlou et al. 2015.