Species ID
OC-SP-0002910
Discovered
Phylum
Nemertea
Species ID
OC-SP-0002910
Provisional Species Name
Drepanophoridae sp_SMTM006
Lowest Valid Taxon Name in WoRMS
Drepanophoridae
Lowest Known Rank
Family
Status
Discovered
Does the taxonomist(s) intend to work on this material further?
3. I/We are not sure yet. This is of course no problem, we will display your species info (if not embargoed) while you work out your species description plan.
Embargo
No
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Nemertea
Class
Hoplonemertea
Order
Polystilifera
Family
Drepanophoridae
Date Identified
07/08/2025
Taxonomic Remarks
Resembles and most closely related to two other co-occurring species Drepanophoridae sp. SMTM005 and SMTM042, from which it can be differentiated by COI sequence data (4-5% divergent). Additionally, it differs from Drepanophoridae sp. SMTM005 by lacking a distinct dark brown pigment band. Circumscriptions of current families and genera of reptant polystiliferans are based on characters of internal anatomy, many of which have been shown to not be reliable indicators of relationships, and await testing with molecular phylogenies. On the other hand, most species that have been sequenced remain unidentified beyond the level of infraorder Reptantia. Placement in the family Drepanophoridae is putative, and the genus remains to be determined. Five species of reptant polystiliferous nemerteans have been collected off the southern coast of Timor by the Siboga Expedition in January 1900, and reported by Stiasni-Wijnhoff (1936): Drepanobanda trilineata, Drepanophorina argus, Punnettia maldivensis, Punnettia timorensis, and Siboganemertes weberi. Unfortunately, color in life is not known for any of these species, and descriptions are based almost exclusively on internal anatomy. Recent studies have shown that internal anatomy does not allow to differentiate between closely related nemertean species. The only information on external appearance available is for D. trilineata (three dorsal longitudinal stripes), and D. argus (over 200 small ocelli). Based on this we can conclude that specimens listed here definitely do not belong to these two species. S. weberi is a bathyal species, and can be excluded on that ground. Furthermore, our sampling was restricted to the northern coast of Timor, which has substantially different oceanographic conditions, types of habitat, and fauna compared to the south coast. Both P. timorensis and P. maldivensis were collected from subtidal mud off the south coast of Timor (34 m), and can be excluded based on habitat alone. While Stiasni-Wijnhoff described several other species of reptant polystiliferans based on material from the Siboga Expedition (collected elsewhere in the Coral Triangle), most of these descriptions lack information on external appearance of living specimens, and thus cannot be matched to freshly collected material without DNA sequence data. While type and voucher material from the Siboga Expedition does exist (Naturalis, Leiden, Netherlands), much of it is in the form of histological sections on glass slides, and those specimens that remain in alcohol are likely to have been originally preserved in formalin, and thus chances are small they can yield useable sequence data, even if destructive sampling is possible. Given a large influx of better documented fresh material, it appears that the most reasonable way forward is to treat freshly collected species as new.
Received All Minimal Data for Discovery
08/04/2026
Description of Material
Body 10-14 mm long, 0.3-1.5 mm wide, relatively short and stout, dorso-ventrally flattened, semi-translucent, especially along the lateral margins, cream-colored with fine mottling of ochre to pale ochre dorsally, white ventrally and dorsally around the margins of body and cephalic lobe, and over cephalic furrows; cephalic lobe bluntly rounded, equipped with a mid-dorsal ridge, which is apparent as a small protuberance along the anterior margin. Some individuals with a very faint dorsal transverse band of pigment separating cephalic lobe from the rest of body. Cerebral organ furrows equipped with secondary furrows (6-7 pairs, but only 3-4 pairs are visible on dorsal side). Ocelli large, situated in 6 groups — a pair of rows along the anterior margin with 2-4 ocelli in each, and four longitudinal rows further posterior — two medial and two lateral, each with 4-5 ocelli. Posterior tapering to a bluntly rounded end. Intestinal diverticula show clearly through body wall.
Ecology
Associated with coral rubble.
Distribution
Only known from Atauro Island, Timor-Leste.
Scientific Name Authorship
Maslakova, Svetlana
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