Species Stylochus pygmaeus Merory & Newman, 2005
- Stylochus pygmaeus Merory, M. & Newman, L.J. 2005. A new stylochid flatworm (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida) from Victoria, Australia and observations on its biology. Journal of Natural History 39: 2581-2589.
Type data:
Holotype MV F93543 (29.i.2002, wholemount), Breakwater Pier, Williamstown, Victoria, Australia [37°52'S 144°55'W].
Paratype(s) MV F94086-9 (29.i.2002, wholemounts and sections), Breakwater Pier, Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. [37°52'S 144°55'W].
Introduction
Specimens of S. pygmaeus were collected inside empty barnacle shells; this worm was reported by Merory & Newman (2005) to feed on at least three species of barnacles, viz. Balanus amphitrite Darwin, 1854, B. trigonus Darwin, 1854 and Elminius modestus Darwin, 1854 in Victorian waters. Merory & Newman (2005) further reported that S. pygmaeus bears some similarities to the description of specimens attributed to S. zanzibaricus Laidlaw, 1903 by Skerman (1960) from New Zealand waters. Morphological variation, however, prevented them from asserting the conspecificity of this new species with the specimens S. zanzibaricus from New Zealand with confidence.
Lee & Johnston (2007) recorded S. pygmaeus from Botany Bay, New South Wales, in association with barnacles (Amphibalanus variegatus (Darwin, 1854)), which they determined as prey items of the flatworms. Copper was demonstrated to lower the fecundity of the flatworms, but not the barnacles, in this study. Further, Lee & Johnston found that barnacles exhibited avoidance behaviour in response to the presence of flatworms.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Victoria
Extra Distribution Information
Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. See Lee & Johnston (2007).
Greater Melbourne Ports area, Victoria, Australia. See Merory & Newman (2005).
Ecological Descriptors
Associated with barnacles. See Lee & Johnston (2007).
General References
Lee, K.-M. & Johnston, E.L. 2007. Low levels of copper reduce the reproductive success of a mobile invertebrate predator. Marine Environmental Research 64: 336-346
Merory, M. & Newman, L.J. 2005. A new stylochid flatworm (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida) from Victoria, Australia and observations on its biology. Journal of Natural History 39: 2581-2589
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "TURBELLARIA" | 02-Aug-2012 | ADDED | Dr Kathryn Hall |