Aplysia monochroa, BERGH, 1908

Golestani, Haleh, Crocetta, Fabio, Padula, Vinicius, Camacho-García, Yolanda, Langeneck, Joachim, Poursanidis, Dimitris, Pola, Marta, Yokeş, M. Baki, Cervera, Juan Lucas, Jung, Dae-Wui, Gosliner, Terrence M., Araya, Juan Francisco, Hooker, Yuri, Schrödl, Michael & Valdés, Ángel, 2019, The little Aplysia coming of age: from one species to a complex of species complexes in Aplysia parvula (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 187, pp. 279-330 : 322

APLYSIA MONOCHROA BERGH, 1908

Aplysia monochroa Bergh, 1908: 13–14 , pl. 1, figs 22–24, pl. 2, figs 2–7. Type locality: Hermanus, South Africa. Type: Probably lost, not at NHMD (K. Jensen, pers. comm.)

Remarks

Bergh (1908) proposed the name Aplysia monochroa based on two specimens collected in Hermanus, South Africa. Bergh’s (1908) description included details of the shell and other internal anatomical characteristics of the two preserved specimens. Bergh (1908: pl. 1, figs 22–24, pl. 2, figs 2–7) included figures of the radulae, jaws and penis. The penis is conical, elongate, has two strong retractor muscles and a short deferent duct. This is most similar to the penial morphology in the three species of the Aplysia parvula – atromarginata complex. On the contrary, the simple jaw elements and the presence of only 2–3 outer lateral radular teeth are more consistent with the characteristics of members of the Aplysia elongata – nigrocincta species complex. Because of these ambiguities, and lack of original type material, we cannot determine the identity of A. monochroa with certainty, which we thus regard as a taxon inquirendum.