A new tritoniid species (Mollusca : Opisthobranchia) from Bouvet Island

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Ballesteros, Manuel, Àvila, Conxita
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2006
• Subjects: Antarctic; Bouvet; Bouvet Island; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Biology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/132030; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0059-4

9 páginas, 6 figuras, 3 tablas Tritoniid sea slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) are reported for the first time from Bouvet Island. Tritonia dantarti sp. n. shows morphological and anatomical differences with regard to the two previously known tritoniids reported from Antarctica and Sub-Antarctica, Tritonia vorax (Odhner 1926) and Tritonia challengeriana Bergh, 1884. Regarding the external morphology, T. dantarti sp. n. is characterized by a very bright orange coloration in the dorsum, white dorsal crests, highly ramified dendritic gills (the largest vertically orientated and the rest laterally orientated), and a quadrangular cross section. The radula presents very long, thin lateral teeth and the jaws present mainly unicuspidate, striated denticles. The seminal receptacle is large, pear-shaped and its grey pigmentation differs from the rest of the genital system. The Antarctic species T. challengeriana was also found in waters off Bouvet Island, while the Subantarctic species T. vorax was not found. We are thankful for the support of the ECOQUIM projects (REN2003-00545 and REN2002-12006-E ANT). Peer reviewed