Turbellarian taxonomic database

Kuma sp. NC Notes


Smith JPS, Tyler S 1985 (citation)- "The acoel turbellarians: kingpins of metazoan evolution or a specialized
offshoot?"  Look at ultrastructural characters (body wall, parenchyma, digestive tract).  "....it appears
that acoels are derived, and cannot logically be fitted into any of the current theories of interphyletic
relationships, either as models of primitiveness or as reduced coelomates.  Instead, the Nemertodermatida,
sister group to the Acoela, and the Catenulida appear more primitive, and consideration of these groups for
phylogenetic schemes is more likely to bear fruit."  Species of Acoela include:
     Diopisthoporus cf. longitubus
     Diopisthoporus sp. (= Diopisthoporus gymnopharyngeus Smith JPS, Tyler S 1985 (citation))
     Hesiolicium inops
     Convoluta convoluta
     Convoluta sp. nov.  (= Convoluta pulchra Smith JPS, Bush L 1991 (citation)) 
     Oxyposthia praedator
     Oligochoerus limnophilus
     Paedomecynostomum sp.
     Paramecynostomum diversicolor
     Anaperus biaculeatus
     Anaperus sp.
     Kuma sp.
     Philactinoposthia sp.
     Otocelis luteola

Notes for the valid (accepted) taxonomic name

Notes for Kuma flava

Hooge MD & Smith JPS 2004 (citation).
'The taxa Haploposthia and Kuma are closely related genera with only minor differences between them.  The
germinal center for eggs and sperm are separate in Kuma, but combined in Haploposthia.  Although the
diagnosis provided by Faubel (1976) for the genus Kuma includes the character “uncolored”, this does not seem
to preclude our species from inclusion in the genus, especially since two other species of Kuma, K.
monogonophora (Westblad, 1946) and K. viridis (An der Lan, 1936) have green coloration. Among species of
Kuma, K. flava is similar to K. albiventer (Marcus, 1954), K. monogonophora, and K. viridis, which all have
conspicuous gland cells ringing the proximal end of the male antrum.  However, K. albiventer has a ventrally
opening male gonopore, K. monogonophora has several stimulatory needles that open into the male antrum, and
K. viridis has a female gonopore, all features not shared with K. flava.'

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