Species ID
OC-SP-0002662
Discovered
Phylum
Platyhelminthes
Species ID
OC-SP-0002662
Provisional Species Name
Utelga sp_S_1420
Lowest Valid Taxon Name in WoRMS
Utelga
Lowest Known Rank
Genus
Status
Discovered
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Embargo
No
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Platyhelminthes
Order
Rhabdocoela
Family
Koinocystididae
Genus
Utelga
Taxonomic Remarks
Utelga sp.4 is characterised by a male bulb including a distal cirrus and a hook. The only other species of Utelga with that characteristic is U. monodon. However, they are primarily differentiable by the morphology of the hook, which is elongate, with a proximal rounded part and ending in a sharp tip, whereas in Utelga sp.4, the hook has two conical structures ending on sharp tips and both structures are joined at their bases by a bridge.
Received All Minimal Data for Discovery
01/04/2026
Description of Material
Species of Utelga with the male copulatory bulb including a spiny cirrus and a hook. The spines measure 4–5 µm long (n = 3). The hook has two conical structures ending on sharp tips and both structures are joined at their bases by a bridge. Measured axially, between the tips of the conical structures, the hook is 33–46 µm long (x¯ = 39 µm; n = 4).
Ecology
Hydrozoan colonies and algae on mangrove roots, 0.5 m deep, salinity 35 ‰.
Distribution
United States of America, Florida, Fort Pierce, Little Jim, 27.47345; -80,31249.
Scientific Name Authorship
Diez, Yander L.
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