Aiteng ater
| Aiteng ater | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Acochlidiacea[1] clade Hedylopsacea[1] |
| Family: | Aitengidae Swennen & Buatip, 2009[2] |
| Genus: | Aiteng Swennen & Buatip, 2009[2] |
| Species: | A. ater |
| Binomial name | |
| Aiteng ater Swennen & Buatip, 2009[2] | |
Aiteng ater is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aitengidae.[2]
The specific name ater is from Latin language and means black, in reference to the appearance of the slug on the mud.[2]
Aiteng ater was chosen by the International Institute for Species Exploration of Arizona State University to be one of the "Top 10 New Species described in 2009".[3]
Distribution
The distribution of Aiteng ater includes Thailand. The type locality is 8°29'18" N, 100°10'55" E, Amphoe Pak Phanang, Pak Phanang Bay, Gulf of Thailand.[2]
Description
The size of the body is 8–12 mm.[2] The shape of the body is elongate, but broad.[2] The color of the slug is from grey to black.[2] Eyes are the only externally clearly visible feature on its head.
Aiteng ater has unusual combination of morphological characters:
- reduction of mantle cavity[1]
- prepharyngeal (circumpharyngeal) nerve ring[1]
- presence of ascus[1] However re-examination of the doubtful "ascus" in Aiteng ater is necessary, because examination of undescribed species Aitengidae sp. from Japan showed no true (i.e. sacoglossan-like) ascus containing old teeth, just a radula slightly bent at the end.[1]
- uniseriate radula (radula with a descending and ascending limb)[1]
- the radula with a strong rhachidian tooth[1]
- the large, internal lateral eyes closely associated with the cerebral ganglia[1]
- the presence of a foot groove[1]
- a branched digestive gland.[1]
This species lacks several acochlidian characteristics:
- it has no shell[2]
- no tentacles[2]
- no gills[2]
- no cerata[2]
- it lacks the division of the body into head-foot complex and visceral hump[1]
- it lacks presence of 1-2 head appendages (with characteristic innervation of the rhinophores)[1]
- it lacks the ability to retract the head-foot complex into the visceral hump.[1]
Aiteng ater has a notum with a free margin.[2] However, in the absence of a separated visceral hump Aiteng ater is able to retract its head under frontal part of the notum.[1]
Ecology
Aiteng ater is an amphibious species which lives in mangrove forests in the intertidal zone, on the mud.[2] It lives "amphibiously" and tolerates marine to brackish waters, but there are no observations of these animals truly leaving the water.[1][2]
Aiteng ater feeds on insects, (is insectivorous).[2] In the laboratory it has been observed to eat pupae of beetles (Coleoptera), pupae of Lepidoptera, imagos of mosquitos and larvae of ants.[2]
Inside the bodies of Aiteng ater there were found to be white elongated endoparasites; these are as yet unstudied.[2] However the "parasites" described for Aiteng ater might represent spicules instead,[1] because the presence of spicules is confirmed for undescribed species Aitengidae sp. from Japan.[1]
References
This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from the reference.[1]
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Jörger K. M., Stöger I., Kano Y., Fukuda H., Knebelsberger T. & Schrödl M. (2010). "On the origin of Acochlidia and other enigmatic euthyneuran gastropods, with implications for the systematics of Heterobranchia". BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 323. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-323.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Swennen C. & Buatip S. "Aiteng ater, new genus, new species, an amphibious and insectivorous sea slug that is difficult to classify [Mollusca: Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa(?): Aitengidae, new family]". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 57(2): 495–500. PDF.
- ↑ "Top 10 New Species – 2010" ."Top 10 – 2010 Bug-eating Slug". accessed 29 November 2010.