Gymnodoris mariefranceae De Souza-Canal & Valdés, 2025

ジムノドーリス・マリーフランサエ Gymnodoris mariefranceae

Location: Umisaboten, Okinawa Island (Oura Bay), Okinawa, Japan
Date: 2015/06/07
Length: 6mm
Depth: 15.0m
Water temperature: 25.0℃

Description

Body oval to elongate, with several large, low, rounded to conical tubercles more densely arranged around the notal rim; velum absent, the notal rim fusing with the head anteriorly. Color translucent white; tubercles yellow-orange, in some specimens a yellow-orange line edges the notal rim. Internal organs visible through the body wall as orange and white masses; a branched, opaque white glandular structure is visible near the posterior end of the body and constitutes a key diagnostic character. Rhinophores conical, with 6-7 lamellae, white stalk, with orange tips. Gill of 8 small, bipinnate, white leaves arranged in a circle around the anus. Foot narrower than notum, opaque white; oral tentacles absent. Largest preserved specimen examined was 13 mm. Radular formula 24 × 13.0.13 in an 8 mm preserved specimen; innermost lateral teeth large, hook-shaped, with curved smooth cusps; other lateral teeth elongate, with broad bases and long, curved cusps. Reproductive system with an elongate, broad ampulla; prostate large, flattened, curved around the bursa copulatrix; bursa copulatrix ovoid, about 10 times as large as the pyriform seminal receptacle. Penial spines triangular to elongate (about 100-150 µm) with relatively broad bases.

Distribution

Apparently endemic to New Caledonia. Type locality: Koumac Bay, North Province, at 0 m depth, in a river mouth fringed by mangroves. Additional records from Pandop Bay, Pandop Point and Pointe de Pandop in the Koumac area at 0-7 m on seagrass, sand-mud and mangrove substrates.

Etymology

Verbatim from De Souza-Canal & Valdés 2025:

This species is named in honor of Marie-France Lage, mother of the first author, in appreciation for passing on her passion for the marine world, and for always showing support and curiosity in the first author's research.

Remarks

Externally similar to G. fleuroti sp. nov. but distinguished by (1) larger, more densely arranged orange tubercles on the center of the dorsum, (2) the presence of a branched glandular structure at the posterior end of the foot, and (3) elongate penial spines (triangular in G. fleuroti). Other similar species are Gymnodoris sp. G and Gymnodoris sp. X, which have more densely arranged orange tubercles and lack a glandular structure at the posterior end of the body, and were also recovered as different species in the species delimitation analyses.