Malacobdella arrokeana (Nemertea, Bdellonemertea), a new species of nemertean from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean entocommensal in Panopea abbreviata (Bivalvia, Heterodonta, Hiatellidae) in Argentina

VERÓNICA A. IVANOV, GREGORIO BIGATTI, PABLO E. PENCHASZADEH AND JON L. NORENBURG

Proceedengs of the Biological Society of London

Año: 2002 vol. 115 p. 359 - 367

Malacobdella arrokeana, a new species of entocommensal nemertean is described from the mantle cavity of the bivalve Panopea abbreviata in Argentine waters. This discovery expands the distribution of the genus, including the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, and represents a new host record. Malacobdella arrokeana can be differentiated from all other species in the genus by the following combination of characters: worm size, length of rhynchocoel, proboscis and retractor muscle of proboscis, gonad distribution and coloration, and position of excretory pores.