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Family: Isodiametridae
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Bocas Species Database Habitat: This species lives in subtidal, clean, coarse-grained, well sorted sand and surrounded by Thalassia sp. Distribution: This new species was found on Isla Bastimentos in the region of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Natural History Notes: The new species Diatomovora jacki was named in honor of Jack Mitchell-Hooge of Ashland, Oregon. The genus Diatomovora has been established by Kozloff (1965) to distinguish the species of the family Isodiametridae that had more than one bursal nozzle. The specimens collected in the region of Bocas del Toro had up to 6 distinct nozzles. Characteristics: The species measures up to 610 µm in length and 250 µm of width. The body is broad and flattened and both anterior and posterior ends are rounded. There is no coloration under transmitter light. The ciliated epidermis contains various rhabdoid glands distributed throughout the epidermis. The frontal organ is well developed, with frontal glands, a mouth on the ventral side in the middle of the body and a frontal pore. As for the reproductive system, the animal possesses unpaired ovary posterior to the seminal bursa, paired testes laterally positioned to the ovaries that extend from the frontal glands to the male copulatory organ. There is also a common gonopore that opens directly to the vagina and the male copulatory organ, since there is no antrum present. Bursal nozzles are also present but discernable only in histological sections and with fluorescence microscopy. The penis is surrounded by circular muscle fibers and has a proximal end that bent caudally and that is capped with a glandular prostatic vesicle. The proximal end of the penis also encompasses a mass of sperm. |