Cheliplana pileola Jouk & De Vocht, 1989

Willems, Wim R., Reygel, Patrick, Steenkiste, Niels Van, Tessens, Bart & Artois, Tom J., 2017, Kalyptorhynchia (Platyhelminthes: Rhabdocoela) from KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), with the description of six new species, Zootaxa 4242 (3), pp. 441-466 : 460-461

Cheliplana pileola Jouk & De Vocht, 1989

( Fig. 8 A–C)

New locality. iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Sodwana Bay, Jesser Point (lighthouse) (27°32'28.4"S, 32°40'47.9"E), green algae from swirl holes on rocky plateau in mid-eulittoral of a highly-exposed, steep beach, December 10, 2009.

Known distribution. Kenya, Mombasa, Tudor Creek , McKenzie Point ( Jouk & De Vocht 1989).

Material. One specimen studied alive and whole mounted afterwards (HU, no. VII.4.7).

Additional remarks. The studied individual is 0.7 mm long (measured on the whole mount), uncoloured and lacks eyes. Caudally an adhesive girdle is present. The proboscis is rather small, approximately 1/12 of the body length long, with curved hooks that do not possess any ornamentation or denticle. In the preserved specimen both hooks are lying on top of each other and the distal tip of the most visible one is clearly bent. Therefore, our measurements (± 11 µm) are an approximation. Soft sidepieces could not be observed. The cylindrical pharynx is situated in the first third of the body and has a long, tubular prepharyngeal cavity, without any spines. The unpaired testis is situated near the proximal end of the pharynx. Paired seminal vesicles and extracapsular prostate glands enter the prostate bulb. This bulb is connected to a 52-µm-long cirrus, of which the most distal end is enveloped in a 25-µm-long and 10-µm-wide, pseudocuticularised papilla. The single ovary is situated next to the cirrus, at approximately 80%.

Although only one specimen could be studied, and rather few details could be observed, the observations mentioned above clearly fit the original description by Jouk & De Vocht (1989).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Cheliplana pileola Jouk & De Vocht, 1989. A. General organisation (from a live specimen). B. Proboscis hook. C. Distal part of ejaculatory duct with cirrus and enveloping papilla. Carcharodorhynchus spec. D. Proboscis. E. Cirrus.