Dixit Sudhanshu, Raghunathan C, Chandra Kailash
Senior Research Fellow, Zoological survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair-744102, A & N Islands..
Zootaxa. 2017 May 24;4269(4):495-512. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4269.4.5.
Polyclads are free-living marine flatworms known for their striking colour and patterns. These animals though frequently encountered are still understudied in the Indian context. The present paper describes three new species, two belonging to the genus Pseudoceros Lang, 1884 and one to the genus Prostheceraeus Schmarda, 1859. Pseudoceros auranticrinis sp. nov. is characterised by whitish cream background colour, brown mottling with numerous white and dark brown spots all over the body except margins and a smooth dorsal surface with orange pseudotentacles, Pseudoceros vishnui sp. nov. is characterised by having purple to violet spots on dorsum with margin made up of blue spots, while Prostheceraeus fuscolineatus sp. nov. is characterised by presence of brown longitudinal lines on dorsum and black erected tentacles. This is the first description of any species under the genus Prostheceraeus from central Indo-Pacific as well as Indian Ocean. Some insights on feeding behaviour of P. vishnui sp. nov. are also provided.
多肠目涡虫是自由生活的海洋扁虫,以其醒目的颜色和图案而闻名。这些动物虽然经常能见到,但在印度的研究背景下仍未得到充分研究。本文描述了三个新物种,其中两个属于1884年的伪角涡虫属(Pseudoceros Lang),一个属于1859年的前角涡虫属(Prostheceraeus Schmarda)。新物种橙纹伪角涡虫(Pseudoceros auranticrinis sp. nov.)的特征是乳白底色,全身布满棕色斑纹以及大量白色和深棕色斑点,但边缘除外,其背面光滑,有橙色假触手;维氏伪角涡虫(Pseudoceros vishnui sp. nov.)的特征是背部有紫色到紫罗兰色的斑点,边缘由蓝色斑点组成;而新物种褐线前角涡虫(Prostheceraeus fuscolineatus sp. nov.)的特征是背部有棕色纵线和黑色直立触手。这是首次对来自中印度洋-太平洋以及印度洋的前角涡虫属的任何物种进行描述。同时还提供了一些关于维氏伪角涡虫摄食行为的见解。