Prostoma communopore, Senz, 1996

Kajihara, Hiroshi, 2025, A taxonomic revision of the freshwater monostiliferous hoplonemertean genus Prostoma Dugès, 1828 (Nemertea: Eumonostilifera): a radical solution or an over-lumping?, Zootaxa 5646 (4), pp. 451-500 : 466

6. communopore Senz, 1996

Source. In the binomen Prostoma communopore by Senz (1996: 24, figs 1–7).

Type locality. Ground water among fine sand at a depth of 1.2 m in Kleinzell , “Kalter Brunnen”, 40 km southwest of Wien, Austria ( Fig. 9 ) .

Etymology. Herein regarded as indeclinable according to Article 31.2.3, because its ending is not decisive as to whether it is an adjective or a noun; from the Latin adjective commūnis, “common”, and masculine noun porus, “pore”, referring to the oesophagus and the rhynchodaeum opening in a common atrium.

Remarks. One of three stygobiont nominal Prostoma species. The common opening of the oesophagus and the rhynchodaeum—considered to be one of the characteristics of this species—can result from the fixation of insufficiently anaesthetized specimens ( Fig. 3A ) and, thus, should not be regarded as the normal or natural configuration of these tracts, much less a specie-specific feature for taxonomic purposes. Prostoma communopore has been regarded as a valid taxon by subsequent researchers ( Chernyshev et al. 1998: 60; Sundberg & Gibson 2008: 62), but is herein considered synonymous with P. puteale until future studies prove otherwise. See Discussion for the validity of other taxonomic characters.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Prostoma clepsinoides Dugès, 1826 from Lake Biwa, Japan.A, Obliquely sagittal section through the rhynchodaeal opening; anterior to the left. B, Horizontal section showing well-developed frontal organ, indicated by arrowhead; anterior upward. C, D, Two serial horizontal sections showing poorly developed frontal organ (indicated by arrowheads) that could otherwise be overlooked or interpreted as absent; anterior upward. A, ICHUM 6278; B, ICHUM 6275; C, D, ICHUM 6274.

FIGURE 9. World map showing distribution of 25 nominal species of freshwater monostiliferous hoplonemerteans indicated by boxes and respective species-group names (three subterranean species are indicated with ‘S’ in parentheses); circles, diamond, and triangles indicate localities of DNA-barcoded individuals; circles, Haplogroup 1 from the UK, Sweden (SE), Italy (IT), Macedonia (MK), Japan (JP), New Zealand (NZ), Mexico (MX), Indiana (IN), and Massachusetts (MA); diamond, Haplogroup 2 from Norway (NO); triangles, Haplogroup 3 from Sweden (SE) and California (CA).