Marine microturbellarians from Japan, with descriptions of two new species of Reinhardorhynchus (Platyhelminthes, Rhabdocoela, Koinocystididae)

Abstract

Marine microturbellarians are an assemblage of meiofaunal flatworms abundant in sediments and on seaweeds around the world. The diversity and distribution of these animals in Japan are poorly understood. Here, we provide an overview of all recorded species in Japan and characterize two new species of the rhabdocoel genus Reinhardorhynchus based on morphological features and a molecular phylogeny inferred from 18S and 28S rDNA sequences. Reinhardorhynchus ryukyuensissp. nov. can be distinguished from other species in the genus by the lack of an armed cirrus and by the presence of two larger opposing hooks and five smaller interconnected hooks in its male copulatory organ. Reinhardorhynchus sagamianussp. nov. differs from its congeners because its male copulatory organ combines a bipartite cirrus armed with a belt of overlapping scale-like spines, an unarmed accessory cirrus, and two large distal accessory hooks. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses show that R. ryukyuensissp. nov. and R. sagamianussp. nov. form a clade with all the other species of Reinhardorhynchus for which DNA sequence data are available. Within this clade, R. sagamianussp. nov. is in a clade that also includes R. riegeri and R. anamariae. The discovery of these new species highlights the importance of uncovering and documenting the hidden biodiversity along Japan’s coastal margin.