Carcharodorhynchus flavidus Brunet, 1967

Gobert, Stefan, Monnens, Marlies, Eerdekens, Lise, Schockaert, Ernest, Reygel, Patrick & Artois, Tom, 2020, Schizorhynchia Meixner, 1928 (Platyhelminthes, Rhabdocoela) of the Iberian Peninsula, with a description of four new species from Portugal, European Journal of Taxonomy 595, pp. 1-17 : 12

Carcharodorhynchus flavidus Brunet, 1967

Fig. 3 E–H

Material examined

PORTUGAL • 1 whole-mount (photographs of live specimen available); Algarve region , Olhos de Água; 37°05′20″ N, 08°11′17″ W; 15 May 2013; B. Tessens leg.; dry sand and algae mixture, scraped from stones at eastern side of the rocky outcrop; HU X.1.47 • 1 whole-mount (photographs of live specimen available); Algarve region , Ilha de Culatra; 36°59′10″ N, 07°50′20″ W; 17 May 2013; B. Tessens leg.; exposed beach opposite village, at 30 cm depth, slightly above low-water line; HU X.1.48 • 1 wholemount; Algarve region , Carvoeiro, beach below Vale de Covo; 37°05′34″ N, 08°27′35″ W; 27 May 2013; B. Tessens leg.; algae and sand scraped from rocks; HU X.1.49 .

USA – Hawaii • 1 whole-mount (photographs of live specimen available); Oahu, Waimãnalo Beach ; 21°19′36″ N, 157°40′59″ W; 28 May 2010; N. Van Steenkiste leg; fine sand with organic material in sheltered habitats between coral at approximately 1.5 m depth; HU X.4.01 • 1 whole-mount (photographs of live specimen available); Oahu, Waimãnalo Beach ; 21°19′36″ N, 157°40′59″ W; 31 May 2010; N. Van Steenkiste leg; fine sand with organic material in between coral rocks; HU X.4.02 • 1 whole-mount (photographs of live specimen available); same collection data as for preceding; HU X.4.03 .

Previously known distribution

Bay of Marseille and nearby areas, Mediterranean, France ( Brunet 1967); North Carolina, USA ( Whitson et al. 2011); Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain ( Gobert et al. 2017); Sardinia, Italy ( Gobert et al. 2017).

Remarks

Live specimens are bright yellow. A single haptic girdle is present caudally.A large proboscis ( Fig. 3 E–F) is present at the rostral end of the body. The proboscis is armed with triangular denticles on the inwardfacing surface. The fields of denticles are interrupted at the base of the proboscis tongues, producing a ‘basal gap’, typical for C. flavidus . A pair of seminal vesicles enter the copulatory bulb ( Fig. 3 G–H) separately at its proximal end. Prostatic glands occur proximally in the ovoid copulatory bulb. Distally, it is provided with a straight cirrus, armed with small spines. The measurements of the Portuguese specimens fall within the size ranges previously reported in the literature ( Brunet 1967; Whitson et al. 2011; Gobert et al. 2017).

Carcharodorhynchus flavidus has an extremely wide geographic range that includes the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Hawaii. This, along with the rather great variation in size this species exhibits, as well as some variation in proboscis dentition, has prompted some authors to suggest that C. flavidus as described by Brunet (1967) may cover several species ( Whitson et al. 2011; Gobert et al. 2017).

Figures

Fig. 3. A–D. Carcharodorhynchus tenuis Brunet, 1979 (HU X.1.46). A–B. Proboscis. C–D. Copulatory bulb. E–H. C. flavidus Brunet, 1967. E–F. Proboscis (HU X.1.49). G–H. Copulatory bulb (HU X.1.48– 49). I–L. C. multidentatus Brunet, 1979 (HU X.1.50). I–J. Proboscis. K–L. Copulatory organ. Scale bars: 20 µm.