Nemesignis banyulensis (Portmann & Sandmeier, 1960)

Description

A small Mediterranean aeolid in the family Myrrhinidae. The body bears a fiery red to vermilion ground colour, and the digestive gland inside the cerata shares the same hue. Cerata are arranged along the dorsolateral side; the rhinophores and oral tentacles are elongated and smooth.

Distribution

Type locality: Banyuls-sur-Mer, north-western Mediterranean, France. Known from the Mediterranean.

Etymology

The specific epithet banyulensis refers to the type locality of Banyuls-sur-Mer, with the Latin toponymic suffix "-ensis". The genus name Nemesignis is a compound of the Greek goddess Nemesis (representing compensatory justice) and the Latin word ignis ("fire"), in reference to the fiery red colour of the type species.

Remarks

Originally described as Dondice banyulensis. The lineage was placed in a new monospecific genus Nemesis Furfaro & Mariottini, 2021, but that name proved to be preoccupied by the copepod crustacean genus Nemesis Risso, 1826. A replacement name, Nemesignis nom. nov., was proposed in the same year to comply with the Principle of Priority under the ICZN.

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References

• Dondice banyulensis sp. nov., Portmann A. & Sandmeier E. (1960). Dondice banyulensis sp. nov. un Eolidien nouveau de la Méditerranée. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 67: 159-168.
• Nemesignis nom. nov. (type species: Dondice banyulensis Portmann & Sandmeier, 1960), Furfaro G. & Mariottini P. (2021). Nemesignis, a Replacement Name for Nemesis Furfaro & Mariottini, 2021 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Myrrhinidae), Preoccupied by Nemesis Risso, 1826 (Crustacea, Copepoda). Life, 11(8): 809. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11080809