Gymnodoris wanaporum De Souza-Canal & Valdés, 2025

Souza-Canal, Jade De & Valdés, Ángel, 2025, The genus Gymnodoris Stimpson, 1855 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) in New Caledonia, with descriptions of eleven new species, Zootaxa 5710 (1), pp. 1-73 : 63

Gymnodoris wanaporum De Souza-Canal & Valdés sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

( Figs. 17E–G , 18B–C , 19A–B )

Type material. Holotype: New Caledonia: North Province: Koumac ( 20°38.4'S, 164°16.5'E), 18 m depth [Koumac 2.3 Expedition, stn. KR1067], 22 Nov 2019, 1 specimen 7 mm preserved length (MNHN-IM-2019-26412, isolate JD52) . Paratypes: New Caledonia: North Province: Koumac ( 20°38.6'S, 164°12.7'E), 11 m depth [Koumac 2.3 Expedition, stn. KD542 ], 7 Nov 2019, 1 specimen 6 mm preserved length (MNHN-IM-2019-26411, isolate JD17), no photo . New Caledonia: North Province: Koumac ( 20°43.8'S, 164°16.4'E), 11–12 m depth [Koumac 2.3 Expedition, stn. KD578 ], 19 Nov 2019, 1 specimen 12 mm preserved length (MNHN-IM-2019-26413, isolate JD26) .

Description. Body oval to elongate, with few, small conical to elongate tubercles of varying sizes. Velum distinct with 8 irregular tubercles, merging with notal rim, which also possesses tubercles; inner rim interior to notal rim, velum with several tubercles ( Figs. 18B–C ). Color translucent dirty-white, tubercles orange, red line edging velum, inner rim; posterior end of foot translucent grey with orange tip. Internal organs visible through body wall as orange, white masses. Rhinophores bulbous to conical, with 11 lamellae, white stalk, red club. Gill with 15 small, simple, translucent leaves, arranged in row anterior to anus. Foot wider than notum, expanded laterally near head, opaque white. Oral tentacles very small, blunt.

Radular formula 15 × 28.0. 28 in a 12 mm preserved length specimen (MNHN-IM-2019-26413). Innermost lateral teeth small, hook-shaped, with straight, flat smooth cusps, broad bases ( Fig. 19A ). Other lateral teeth elongate, with broad bases, long, slightly curved cusps ( Fig. 19B ).

Reproductive system with a large, broad, slightly curved ampulla, connecting to female gland complex, prostate ( Fig. 17E ). Prostate large, flattened, partially covering bursa copulatrix, narrowing into a highly convoluted deferent duct, opening into a common atrium with vagina. Vagina straight, connecting into bursa copulatrix opposite to seminal receptacle connection, with a swelling near the bursa copulatrix connection. Bursa copulatrix spherical, about five times as large as ovoid seminal receptacle. Penial spines elongate (about 100 µm long), with relatively curved cusps, narrow bases ( Fig. 17G ).

Phylogenetic position. The phylogenetic position of Gymnodoris wanaporum sp. nov. is unresolved ( Fig. 1A ).

Etymology. This species is named to honor the Tribu de Wanap, located in Koumac, New Caledonia, in appreciation for their hospitality during the field work in their land, and in recognition of their cultural heritage.

Remarks. Gymnodoris wanaporum sp. nov. is superficially similar to Gymnodoris sp. A , Gymnodoris sp. 49, and Gymnodoris sp. 53, but lacks lateral anterior expansions of the foot, and has a distinctive glandular structure on the posterior end of the foot. Also, species in the Gymnodoris lebouteillerorum sp. nov. clade have a similar body profile but the foot is much narrower and the gill smaller in G. wanaporum sp. nov. and related species, which also lack a glandular structure visible behind the gill of G. wanaporum sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Bayesian consensus phylogenetic tree of the concatenated dataset including PP above branches and MLB below branches. Branches fully supported (PP: 1, MLB: 100) marked with asterisks. New species described in this paper highlighted in red font and illustrated; other species reported from New Caledonia in this study highlighted in blue font. Clades are collapsed according to the results of the ASAP and bPTP species delimitation analyses. B. Histogram representing the distance plot from the ASAP analysis using the COI gene showing pairwise p-distances (Kimura 2 model) among candidate species. The dashed line represents the distance threshold provided by the lowest ASAP score for species delimitation.

FIGURE 17. Gymnodoris deniseae sp. nov., Gymnodoris bricei sp. nov., Gymnodoris wanaporum sp. nov., and Gymnodoris fassioae sp. nov., drawings of reproductive systems. A–B. G. deniseae sp. nov, paratype, Poum, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM- 2019-26468, isolate JD101), general view of reproductive organs (A), penial spines (B). C–D. G. bricei sp. nov., holotype, St. Vincent Bay, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26451, isolate JD149), general view of reproductive organs (C), penial spines (D). E–G. G. wanaporum sp. nov., paratype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26413, isolate JD26), general view of reproductive organs (E), detail of the seminal receptable (F), penial spines (G). H–I. G. fassioae sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26502, isolate JD24), general view of reproductive organs (H), penial spines (I).

FIGURE 18. Gymnodoris bricei sp. nov., Gymnodoris wanaporum sp. nov., G. fassioae sp. nov., Gymnodoris feyae sp. nov., Gymnodoris bernardae sp. nov., and Gymnodoris sp., photographs of live animals showing color variation. A. G. bricei sp. nov., holotype, St. Vincent Bay, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26451, isolate JD149), photo Y.Thévenet. B. G. wanaporum sp. nov., paratype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26413, isolate JD26). C. G. wanaporum sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26412, isolate JD52). D. G. fassioae sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26502, isolate JD24). E. G. feyae sp. nov., paratype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26384, isolate JD29). F. G. feyae sp. nov., paratype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26383, isolate JD13). G. G. feyae sp. nov., paratype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26385, isolate JD46). H. G. feyae sp. nov., paratype, Nouméa, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26388, isolate JD89). I. G. feyae sp. nov., holotype, Nouméa, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM- 2019-26386, isolate JD87). J. G. feyae sp. nov., paratype, Nouméa, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26387, isolate JD88). K. G. bernardae sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26511, isolate JD54). L. G. boiteuxi sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26469, isolate JD69).

FIGURE 19. Gymnodoris wanaporum sp. nov., Gymnodoris fassioae sp. nov., and Gymnodoris feyae sp. nov., scanning electron micrographs of the radulae. A–B. G. wanaporum sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26412, isolate JD52), inner lateral teeth (A), outer lateral teeth (B). C–E. G. fassioae sp. nov., holotype, Koumac, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM- 2019-26502, isolate JD24), inner lateral teeth (C), mid lateral teeth (D), outer lateral teeth (E). F–G. G. feyae sp. nov., paratype, Nouméa, New Caledonia (MNHN-IM-2019-26388, isolate JD89), inner lateral teeth (F), outer lateral teeth (G).