Kabeiro christianae Shipman & Gosliner, 2015

Description

An elongate Kabeiro reaching 25 mm in length (preserved specimen ~7 mm). The body is dark gray to brown, blending with the stalks of the hydroid on which it feeds. A dark gray to brown longitudinal band runs along the dorsum and continues up the rhinophoral sheaths, where it is bordered by opaque white. The rhinophores themselves are opaque white to light brown with white specks at their tips and are much longer than their sheaths.
The 6–8 pairs of cerata are very elongate, opaque white, tannish brown, or dark gray (preserved cerata ~1 mm wide). The irregularly arranged tubercles on the cerata vary in shape and resemble the polyps of the host hydroid. The base of the medial face of each ceras is reddish brown and semi-circular. In living animals, cerata may be held vertically or horizontally. Just above the base of each ceras, a prominent pseudobranch bifurcates; its shape varies between cerata, but viewed medially it often resembles a boomerang. The pericardium protrudes bulbously on the anterior dorsum between the first and second pairs of cerata. Posterior to the pericardium, the tube-like digestive gland runs medially along the length of the dorsum.
The anal papilla is opaque white, prominent, and lies between the first and second right cerata within the white band that lines the edge of the notum. The oral veil is auriform and opaque white. The genital pore lies directly below the first right ceras and bears the same pigmentation as the lateral surface of the body. In preserved specimens, the dorsum, lateral surfaces, and pericardium are splotched in opaque white irregularly shaped spots. The foot is opaque white with small patches of dark brown along its margin; just above the margin, a discontinuous opaque white line runs along the length of the body. The radular formula is 51 × 0.1.0.

Distribution

Philippines (Luzon, Batangas Province, Calumpan Peninsula, Maricaban Strait, Basketball dive site, 13.69°N 120.89°E; and Kirby's Rock, Caban Island, Tingloy) and Indonesia (Bali, from photographic records). Feeds on plumularid hydroids. Egg masses are cream-colored and tightly coiled, laid parallel to the stalk of the host hydroid.

Etymology

Verbatim from the original description (Shipman & Gosliner, 2015):

Named after Christiane Waldrich who photographed most of the specimens from Bali, Indonesia included in this manuscript.

Remarks

Originally figured as Doto sp. 13 in a 2008 reference work. In the molecular phylogeny of Shipman & Gosliner 2015, K. christianae is sister to Kabeiro rubroreticulata, and these two are jointly sister to Kabeiro phasmida. K. christianae is distinguished from K. rubroreticulata and K. phasmida by a body color lacking red reticulations. Like K. rubroreticulata, it lacks the conical tubercles present in K. phasmida. The pseudobranchs of K. christianae are bifid or boomerang-shaped, simple in K. rubroreticulata, and absent in K. phasmida. The penial gland is large in K. christianae and K. rubroreticulata and small in K. phasmida; the ejaculatory duct is elongate and convoluted in the former two species and shorter in K. phasmida. The radular teeth resemble those of K. phasmida but bear more denticles. K. christianae is most similar in external appearance to the undescribed Doto sp. 12 from Papua New Guinea, which holds its cerata parallel to the body, has more numerous low white tubercles covering the cerata, and bears yellowish-brown terminal tubercles.

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References

• ヒイラギウミウシ, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
• Kabeiro christianae n. sp., Shipman C. & Gosliner T.M. (2015). Molecular and morphological systematics of Doto Oken, 1851 (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia), with descriptions of five new species and a new genus. Zootaxa. 3973(1): 1-49. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3973.1.1