Vorticeros praedatorium sp. nov.(Platyhelminthes: Prolecithophora: Plagiostomidae) from the Pacific coast of North America

• Main Authors: KOZLOFF, Eugene N., WESTERVELT, Clinton A.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR) 2001
• Subjects: Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.21411/cbm.a.b3ea47b8; http://application.sb-roscoff.fr/cbm/doi/10.21411/CBM.A.B3EA47B8

Vorticeros praedatorium sp. nov. is described from Friday Harbor, Washington. This prolecithophoran feeds on ooecia of Bugula californica and Dendrobeania lichenoides, and deposits its egg capsules on colonies of these bryozoans. The only Vorticeros whose morphology has been described carefully is V. pulchellum, found at various localities in the Adriatic. It has been synonymized under Vorticeros auriculatum, known from the North Atlantic region, but until the morphology of V. auriculatum has been studied in detail, it is best to recognize V. pulchellum as a valid species. Vorticeros praedatorium differs from V. pulchellum in three major respects. It has only one penis sheath, instead of two; its seminal vesicle consists of two successive chambers; its two ovovitelline ducts do not unite to form a common duct, but enter the genital atrium separately.