Event Abstract Back to Event Biodiversity of the Order Polycladida (Platyhelminthes) in the Canary Islands Daniel Cuadrado1*, Bruno Almón2 and Leopoldo Moro3 1 Daniel Cuadrado, Department of biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Science (CSIC), Spain 2 Grupo de Estudos do Medio Mariño (GEMM), Spain 3 Servicio de Biodiversidad, Gobierno de Canarias, Spain A study on the Order Polycladida has been performed in the archipelago of the Canary Islands. The archipelago is located northwest of the African continent and is part of the so-called Macaronesia, together with Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira and Savage Islands. The present report arises from the need of a taxonomic and cladistic study of the Polycladida in the archipelago, since until now, only a short list of photographed species has been made (Vera et al., 2009), as well as two publications about the island of Cape Verde within the Macaronesian region (Laidlaw 1906, Bahia and Schröld, 2016). To this end, a sampling campaign focused in the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and El Hierro has been carried out, between the 15th and 22nd of June 2015. Specifically, the sampling locations in Tenerife were: “Los Gigantes” cliff (28°20'29.7" N+16°54'58.8" W) and “Punta del Hidalgo” (28°34'29.6"N+16°19'48.5" W); in El Hierro island: La Caleta (27°48'01.5" N+17°53'12.5" W), La Maceta (27°47'10.2" N+18°00'33.9" W) and Punta de la Restinga (27°38'20.9" N+17°58'39.5" W); and in Gran Canaria island: El Cabrón (27°52'02.8" N+15°23'10.1" W) (Fig.1). Subsequently, a histological study was conducted. Initially, the samples were dehydrated and fixed in Bouin and then, imbibed in paraffin. To continue, with help of a microtome, serially sectioned at 6–12 μm of the organisms were made. Finally, the preparations were stained with Azan’s trichromic stain. This technique has allowed making reconstructions of the internal organs for their taxonomic classification. Based on the monograph work done by Faubel (1983, 1984), the species of the Order POLICLADIDA (Class Rhabditophora) were classified in two Suborders, ACOTYLEA, by the absence of an adhesive organ or sucker, and COTYLEA, by presenting this adhesive organ of a glandular nature. The consecutive classification, in families, genera and species, was principally based on the morphology of the reproductive organs. Following this classification, a total of 19 species has been identified, four of them are proposed as new species (Fig.2). Five species belong to the suborder Acotylea: Planocera pellucida (Mertens, 1833) Örsted, 1844; Cestoplana rubrocincta (Grube, 1840) Lang, 1884; Interplana n.sp. and Notoplanidae sp.1 and 2 (de Vera et al., 2009); and fourteen species belong to the suborder Cotylea: Eurylepta n.sp.; Prostheceraeus giesbrechtii Lang, 1884; Prostheceraeus roseus Lang, 1884; Enchiridium evelinae Marcus, 1949; Anonymus virilis Lang, 1884; Anonymus n.sp..; Pericelis cata Marcus and Marcus, 1986; Phrikoceros mopsus (Marcus, 1952) Quiroga, 2008; Pseudobiceros wirtzi Bahia and Schrödl, 2016; Pseudoceros maximus Lang, 1884; Pseudoceros velutinus (Blanchard, 1847) Lang, 1884; Pseudoceros n.sp.; Thysanozoon brocchii (Risso, 1818) Grube, 1840 and Yungia aurantiaca (Delle Chiaje, 1822) Lang, 1884. Afterwards some remarks on the new species are provided. Interplana n.sp.: the genus Interplana Faubel, 1983, was described by the presence of two tentacles and cerebral eyes, male copulatory organ, penis papilla armed with a complex stylet and muscular male atrium and partially sclerotized, bulbose vagina and vesicle of Lang present. The genus contains two species, Interplana evelinae (Marcus 1952) Faubel, 1983, from Brazil and Interplana sandiegensis (Boone, 1929) Faubel, 1983, from California and Mexico. The epithet Interplana sandiegiensis with an "i" given by Faubel is rejected, maintaining the original nomenclature, Planocera sandiegensis Boone, 1929 synonym. Interplana nsp., highlighted by the presence of a very complex interpolated prostatic vesicle, differentiated into a glandular proximal portion and an elongated muscular distal one traversed by an intermuscular tissue, penis with an externally muscular stylet, and in the final section of the masculine atrium, armed with sclerotized thorns. Anonymus n.sp.: The genus Anonymus Lang, 1884, was described by the presence of multiples male gonopores, with numerous copulatory organs spread longitudinally around the ruffled pharynx and female gonopores. The genus consists on three species, Anonymus virilis Lang, 1884, of the Mediterranean Sea, Anonymus multivirilis Holleman, 1998 and Anonymus kaikourensis Holleman, 1998, both collected in New Zealand. Anonymus nsp., differs both by external appearance, with a very marked red coloration against A. virilis and A. multivirilis, who exhibit transparent or cream tones, and by having and intermediate number of copulatory organs, between the 11 pairs found in A. virilis and the 226 described for A. multivirilis. Eurylepta n.sp.: Regarding the genus Eurylepta Ehrenberg, 1831, it is characterized by the presence of rudimentary tentacles, a mouth behind the brain and the penis with a tubular stylet. It consists of 13 species (Faubel, 1984) being Eurylepta cornuta (O.F.Muller, 1776) Ehrenberg, 1831 the type species of the genus. Note Eurylepta turma Marcus, 1952, as it presents the masculine copulatory apparatus backwards directed, may be related to Eurylepta n.sp. Another particular feature is the transverse position in parallel with the free prostatic vesicle and the seminal vesicle. Pseudoceros n.sp.: At last, the genus Pseudoceros Lang, 1884, was described based on the presence of pseudotentacles with the shape of simple folds, with a smooth dorsal surface, a simple ruffled pharynx and one male gonopore. Together with the genus Pseudobiceros, they form one of the largest families in species within the polyclads. The species described, Pseudoceros n.sp., was already photographed years ago (de Vera et all. 2009) but lacked of a formal description. This species is characterized by a coloration pattern formed by two orange marginal lines, together with marginal interruptions, in the form of white scrolls, on a black background. Although both species of the genus Pseudoceros and Pseudobiceros, present very similar, morphologically, copulatory complexes, all signs point that the coloration pattern presented by the species is valid as a diagnostic character (Marquina et al. 2015). Finally, a determination key for known species to date in the Canary Islands is provided. Figure 1 Figure 2 References - Bahia, J., & Schrödl, M. (2016). Pseudobiceros wirtzi sp. nov. (Polycladida: Cotylea) from Senegal with revision of valid species of the genus. Zootaxa, 4097(1), 101. - De Vera, A., Moro, L., Bacallado, J.J. & Hernández, F. (2008) Contribución al conocimiento de La biodiversidad de políclados(Pltyhelminthes, Turbellaria) em las Islas Canarias. Revista de la Academia Canaria de Ciencias, 20 (4), 45–59. - Faubel, A. (1983). The Polycladida, Turbellaria; Proposal and establishment of a new system. Part I. The Acotylea. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 80: 17-121. - Faubel, A. (1984). The Polycladida, Turbellaria; Proposal and establishment of a new system. Part II. The Cotylea. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 81: 189–259. - Laidlaw F.F. (1906). On the marine fauna of the Cape Verde Islands, from collections made in 1904 by Mr C. Crossland. The polyclad Turbellaria. Proc Zool Soc London 1906:705-719 - Lang, A. (1884). Die Polycladen (Seeplanarien) des Golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden Meeresabschnitte. Eine Monographie. Fauna Flora Golfes Neapel. W. Engelmann, Leipzig. Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel, 11: IX+688 pp. - Marcus, Er. (1952). Turbellaria Brasileiros (10). Boletins da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras Universidade de São Paulo, 10: 85-86. - Marquina, D., Teresa Aguado, M., & Norena, C. (2015). New records of Cotylea (Polycladida, Platyhelminthes) from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with remarks on the distribution of the Pseudoceros Lang, 1884 and Pseudobiceros Faubel, 1984 species of the Indo-Pacific Marine Region. Zootaxa, 4019(1), 354-377. Keywords: Flatworms, platyhelminthes, Polyclad, Cotylea, Acotylea, Canary island Conference: XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: 1. ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND VULNERABLE ECOSYSTEMS Citation: Cuadrado D, Almón B and Moro L (2016). Biodiversity of the Order Polycladida (Platyhelminthes) in the Canary Islands. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00154 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 05 Jun 2016; Published Online: 03 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Mr. Daniel Cuadrado, Daniel Cuadrado, Department of biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Science (CSIC), Madrid, Spain, cuadradopm@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. 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