A New Species of a Rare Marine Flatworm Genus from Taiwan
Surveys of intertidal coral reef flats in southern Taiwan led to the discovery of Cestoplanoida wanlitongensis sp. nov., only the second known species of the marine flatworm genus Cestoplanoida. The genus has remained largely overlooked since its type species was described from the Red Sea more than a century ago and has lacked molecular data until now. Histological examinations documented a reproductive developmental sequence in which female reproductive structures develop after the male system has matured, accompanied by the gradual degeneration of spermiducal vesicles while the male copulatory apparatus remains intact. The study also revises the diagnostic characters of the genus and provides the first DNA sequence data for Cestoplanoida.
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