Pneumodermopsis (Pneumodermopsis) teschi Van der Spoel, 1973e
Overview
This is a relatively large, naked pelagic snail, up to 1 cm long. The mainly transparent barrel-shaped body that shows the reddish brown of the visceral mass through the body wall. The skin is grayish brown with chromatophores. There is a reduced median sucker arm with 5 suckers, the top sucker is normal in size and the other 4 are strongly reduced. There are two lateral arms, each with 10 suckers. A posterior gill is absent. The posterior footlobe is long. It is a good swimmer that feeds on zooplankton. It lives in the N-Atlantic in shallow and deep water layers (Pneumodermopsis teschi).
Taxonomic Description
Body less slender than in Pneumodermopsis (Pn.) simplex ; skin is semitransparent, gray brown with small chromatophores. Footparts as in Pneumodermopsis (Pn.) ciliata. The posterior gill absent, the lateral gill is well developed. The visceral mass reaches just beyond the middle of the body in animals of 4 to 9 mm, but in small specimens of 3 to 4 mm, it sometimes fills the whole body. The median sucker arm is reduced. The terminal sucker is large and similar in size to the terminal sucker found in Pneumodermopsis (Pn.) ciliata. The anterior and posterior sucker pairs are strongly reduced, sometimes one of these two pairs is not visible. The lateral sucker arms are free, with 6 to 10 suckers each. The suckers are subequal, placed on short stalks. The Pneumodermopsis teschi radula formula varies between 3-1-3 in small and 7-1-7 in larger specimens. The median plate is bi- or tricuspoid. The number of hooks varies between 9 and 35.
The maximum body length is 9.1 mm.
Juveniles
A special description is not available.
Reproduction
This species is a protandric hermaphrodite.
Ecology
This species is carnivorous.
Distribution
The distribution of this species is around the Atlanto-Mediterranean Centre and is common for the present genus and it strongly penetrates into northern waters. A single record in the Carribean may indicate a much wider range of this species, see the Pneumodermopsis teschi map.
Types
Pneumodermopsis (P.) teschi Van der Spoel, 1973: 56, figs. 3-4.
Holotype: ZMUC (alcohol collection)
Type locality.: 61°49'N 18°46'W. Coll.: CTHE, stat. 286.