New species of the genus Pseudoceros from Indian Ocean

Pseudoceros bipurpurea

Phylum: Platyhelminthes

Subphylum: Rhabditophora Ehlers. 1985

Order: Polyclaldida Lang, 1884

Family: Pseudocerotidae Lang, 1884

Pseudoceros bipurpurea Dixit, 2021

Tagline: New species of the genus Pseudoceros from Indian Ocean

Collection: Agatti Island (solar pint, 32m depth), 10°50′28′′N 72°11′30′′E, Lakshadweep, India. 06.5.2019.

Voucher No.: IO/DV/POY/00028 – Holotype

Description: Background body colour cream with an orange median band surrounded by dense patches of purple spots without touching the margin. These dense purple spots tend to disperse and broaden toward posterior end. Marginal rim blue

Biological association: None.

Remarks: None.

Distribution: Lakshadweep Islands, India.

Distribution map:

Lakshadweep Islands (black rectangle) near the west coast of southern India (top) and magnified image of Agatti Island (below) with collection sites of new species – Pseudoceros bipurpurea sp. nov. (yellow dot). Source: Google Earth.

Identified by: Sudhanshu Dixit

Publication: Dixit, S., Manjebrayakat, H. & Saravanane, N. 2021. Two new Pseudoceros (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) from Agatti Island, India and a species checklist from Indian waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 101: 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315421000151

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