caa a22 4500 445819618 CHVBK 20180317145239.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00338-011-0745-3 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00338-011-0745-3 Taxonomy and life history of the Acropora -eating flatworm Amakusaplana acroporae nov. sp. (Polycladida: Prosthiostomidae) [Elektronische Daten] [K. Rawlinson, J. Gillis, R. Billings Jr., E. Borneman] Efforts to culture and conserve acroporid corals in aquaria have led to the discovery of a corallivorous polyclad flatworm (known as AEFW - Acropora-eating flatworm), which, if not removed, can eat entire colonies. Live observations of the AEFW, whole mounts, serial histological sections and comparison of 28S rDNA sequences with other polyclads reveal that this is a new species belonging to the family Prosthiostomidae Lang, 1884 and previously monospecific genus Amakusaplana (Kato 1938). Amakusaplana acroporae is distinguished from Amakusaplana ohshimai by a different arrangement and number of eyes, a large seminal vesicle and dorsoventrally compressed shell gland pouch. Typical of the genus, A. acroporae, lacks a ventral sucker and has a small notch at the midline of the anterior margin. Nematocysts and a Symbiodinium sp. of dinoflagellate from the coral are abundantly distributed in the gut and parenchyma. Individual adults lay multiple egg batches on the coral skeleton, each egg batch has 20-26 egg capsules, and each capsule contains between 3-7 embryos. Embryonic development takes approximately 21days, during which time characteristics of a pelagic life stage (lobes and ciliary tufts) develop but are lost before hatching. The hatchling is capable of swimming but settles to the benthos quickly, and no zooxanthellae were observed in the animal at this stage. We suggest that intracapsular metamorphosis limits the dispersal potential of hatchlings and promotes recruitment of offspring into the natal habitat. The evolutionary and ecological significance of retaining lobes and ciliary tufts in the embryo are discussed. Camouflage, high fecundity and possible dispersal dimorphisms probably explain how Amakusaplana acroporae can cause Acropora sp. mortality in aquaria where natural predators may be absent. Springer-Verlag, 2011 Coral predator nationallicence Acropora-eating flatworm nationallicence Polyclad nationallicence Amakusaplana acroporae nationallicence Intracapsular larva nationallicence 28S rDNA phylogeny nationallicence Rawlinson K. Smithsonian Marine Station, 701 Seaway Drive, 34949, Fort Pierce, FL, USA aut Gillis J. Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Anatomy Building, Downing Street, CB2 3DY, Cambridge, UK aut Billings Jr. R. 9901 Jay Lane, 20136, Bristow, VA, USA aut Borneman E. Department of Biology, University of Houston, Science and Research Building II, 4800 Calhoun Rd., 77204, Houston, TX, USA aut Coral Reefs Springer-Verlag 30/3(2011-09-01), 693-705 0722-4028 30:3<693 2011 30 338 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0745-3 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0745-3 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Rawlinson K. Smithsonian Marine Station, 701 Seaway Drive, 34949, Fort Pierce, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gillis J. Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Anatomy Building, Downing Street, CB2 3DY, Cambridge, UK aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Billings Jr R. 9901 Jay Lane, 20136, Bristow, VA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Borneman E. Department of Biology, University of Houston, Science and Research Building II, 4800 Calhoun Rd., 77204, Houston, TX, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Coral Reefs Springer-Verlag 30/3(2011-09-01), 693-705 0722-4028 30:3<693 2011 30 338 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer