Pseudunela viatoris | |
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A live Pseudunela viatoris hf – head-foot complex. | |
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Species: | P. viatoris
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Binomial name | |
Pseudunela viatoris Neusser, Jörger & Schrödl, 2011
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Pseudunela viatoris is a species of sea slug, an acochlidian, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudunelidae.
The specific name viatoris is after the Latin word “viator” (engl. pilgrim/voyager) according to its supposed ability to travel over long distances. [2]
Pseudunela viatoris is known from Viti Levu, Fiji and Gili Lawa Laut, Indonesia. [2] The type locality is Fiji, Viti Levu, Laucala Bay, Nukumbutho Island, GPS: 18°10.47′S, 178°28.34′E. [2]
The body size of living specimens of Pseudunela viatoris is 3–4 mm. [2] The body is divided into an anterior head-foot complex and a posterior elongated visceral hump. [2] The paired labial tentacles are broad at the base and taper to the end. [2] The rhinophores are tapered and shorter and thinner than the labial tentacles. [2] The densely ciliated foot is as broad as the anterior head-foot complex and extends about one third of the elongated visceral hump. [2] The heart bulb is visible externally in the anterior part of the visceral hump on the right body side. [2] Subepidermal, needle-shaped calcareous spicules are sparsely distributed in the cephalic tentacles, the foot and the visceral hump; in the anterior part of the latter they are larger than in the posterior part. [2] The body colour is whitish translucent, the digestive gland is brownish coloured (in specimens from Indonesia: orange-brownish shining through the epidermis). [2] Epidermal glands are distributed particularly over the visceral hump. [2] Whereas eyes are not visible externally in specimens from Fiji, eyes are weakly visible in some specimens from Indonesia. [2] Eye diameter is 30-35 μm. [2]
Nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system, excretory system and reproductive system are described by Neusser et al. (2011) in detail. [2]
Pseudunela viatoris is a minute species that lives in the spaces between sand grains in saltwater habitats, and it is thus considered to be a mesopsammic, marine interstitial animal that is part of the meiofauna of marine sands. [2]
This article incorporates CC-BY-2.5 text from the reference [2]