Turbellarian taxonomic database

Amphiscolops langerhansi Notes


Graff L v 1882 (citation)- illustration and brief description as Convoluta cinereus.
Mark EL 1892 (citation)- comments on (part of his article describing Polychoerus caudatus).
Bohmig L 1895 (citation)- lists p 44 as Convoluta.
Graff L v 1902 (citation)- lists Convoluta langerhansi as = Amphicoerus.  Report from Puerto
	Rico- description and comparison with A. cinereus.  Notes occurence in Orotava (Tenerife).
	
Graff L v 1904 (citation)- Approximately four times longer than wide with parallel sides. Slowly getting
smaller anterior end, the posterior with a median depression. The dorsal side is slightly concave.
Animals are approximately 5 mm long, the typical shape already animals with 1 mm have.  The coloration 
varies a lot.  First it depends on the 20-24 µm long zooxanthellae, mostly situated in the peripheral
parenchyma more numerous in the dorsal than in the ventral one. Second there are concrement clusters,
which lie between the epithelia and the body wall musculature.  One constant spot appears in front the
statocyst, the others are very variable and Graff points out another time, how useless these dots are as
systematic character. There are sensory cells and rod shaped things. These rods are single or packed
tight together in cells. On one end they are pointed on the other they are blunt. Best they could be
seen after fixation with hyper osmium acid. The glands are most numerous at the anterior end where they
are distributed on the dorsal and ventral surface. The epithelium contains no nuclei. The body wall
musculature contains outer circular muscles and inner longitudinal muscles.  There is a “sensory edge”
which is similar to A. cinereus and C. convoluta. The ventral last quarter, especially the lobes, are
containing sticking gland cells, which protruding distal ends are around the edge. 
If an animal catches prey (crustaceans) it enfolds its sides over it and puts rhabdoids over it and
with contractions of the whole body it is ingested. The frontal gland cells are well developed. There
are cells behind and beneath the brain. They protrude in the area a little bit wider then the eyes,
no frontal organ is present. The nervous system consists of a brain ventral to the statocyst, and an
outer and an inner dorsal pair of longitudinal nerve cords.  The eyes appear beside the statocyst as
yellow dots, sometimes on one side missing.  The mouth lies slightly behind the middle of the body.
The genital openings lie very far behind, the female one at the beginning of the last 1/6 of the body length
(with lobes and not squeezed) the male a little bit behind. In sagittal sections the openings appear in
opposite ends of a depression of the body wall. Testis originate at lateral sides run back to seminal
vesicle where they fill the dorsal half and the lumen of the penis. In squeezed preparations it is a big
muscular bowl nearly one third of the body width wide, directed anterior and ventral. The genital openings 
widens into the antrum, posterior to it is the bigger opening of the penis. In between the penis and the its 
enfolding layer of the antrum there is a small space, which can just be seen in sections on the lateral and 
posterior parts because the anterior part is not hanging freely and the invagination of the antrum just forms 
a rim.  The rim of the penis and the wall of the antrum are not separated on this spot. They have nearly the 
same morphology. The penis is lined with a 8 µm high epithelium. The male copulatory organ consists of 
parenchyma muscles. The spaces in between especially in the penis rim, filled with gland cells, with
granular secretion protruding through the wall of the antrum and the penis rim. The epithelium of the penis
rim protrudes in form of many papillae into the lumen. The mature spermatozoa are very long, thin ribbons
with e fine middle-stripe of granules and bright edges. The female follicles originate at the same edge as
the male follicles, but on the ventral side. Some are developing into oocytes, other into abortive eggs.
Behind the mouth they approach the median line. The seminal bursa is smaller than the penis and opened
posterior. As an antrum femininum is lacking this is the female pore. It is lined by an epithelium but the
wall has the same morphology as the male antrum. In the seminal bursa are clumps of spermatozoa and
glandular secret. From the anterior, lateral and ventral edges of the bursal wall papillae are arising,
containing one bursal nozzle. In mature animals there are between 6 and 11 bursal nozzles present. The
bursal nozzles measure 80-130 µm in length and can be curved strongly. 
A. langerhansi lives  on the ground of  low tide pools and eats crustaceans. 
If the species occurs near Neaples as considered by Brandt needs further investigation.

Sabussow H 1905 (citation)- work on this species at lab in Villefranche.
Bohmig L 1906 (citation)- as Amphicoerus refers to p 435, nerves in, p 435.
Lohner L 1911 (citation)- looked for excretory canals in.
Luther A 1912 (citation)- brief mention.
Lohner L 1913 (citation)- on definitionh of genus and anatomy of this species, plances in Polychoerus.
Wilhelmi J 1913 (citation)- mentions p 24, 36, 50.
Bresslau E 1933 (citation)- p 55, fig 24.3- from Puerto Orotava, Tenerife- exterior view,
	length to 5 mm.  Also p 117, fig 111- for reproductive organs- see ? sheet.

Welsh M 1936 (citation)- oxygen production by xooxanthellae in this species.  from tanks
	at Bermuda Biological Station- she also notes these are like species of Heterchaerus
	described by Haswell in Australia- thinks they are probably synonyms- notes
	newly hatched worms do not have xooxanthellae- these appear after a few days.
	2 red eye spots and statocyst can be seen better after animals are left in dark
	and xooxanthellae shrink.  [Bush note: probably this was A. bermudensis Hyman].
	
Hyman LH 1937 (citation)- describes copulation and gives histological details.  (illustrations
	are also later used in her book).
	
Costello HM, Costello DP 1938 (citation)- compared copulation in Polychoerus carmelensis and
	Amphiscolops langerhansi.
	 
Westblad E 1942 (citation)- reference to bursa mundstucken in Amphiscolops langerhansi p 10.
Westblad E 1946 (citation)- notes many nozzles on bursa.
Marcus E 1947 (citation)- mentions p 160-162.
Westblad E 1948 (citation)- p 26 note on gonaducts.  p 48 on bursa in- structure and comparison
	with that in Polychoerus- probably this species belongs in Polychoerus.
	
Marcus E 1950 (citation)- mentions p 20 in key p 21.
Hyman LH 1951 (citation) -vol 2, p 126-127- copulation in this species.  Sketch of animals and 
	section notes its establishment in tanks at station in Bermuda.  p 193- notes this
	species will survive in an airtight bottle for 2 weeks or more in light but succumbs
	in dark.  Brown cells of ? are photosynthetic and supply oxygen.
	
Marcus E 1952 (citation)- p 20 compares his species carvalhoi closest to this p 20, 104.
Riedl RJ 1959 (citation)- p 184-6 reports this from caves in the Mediterranean complete 
	synonmy here.
	
Hanson ED 1960 (citation)- reports asexual reproduction in.
Steinbock O 1963 (citation)- p 49 mentions work on cleavage of.
Hanson ED 1967 (citation)- on regeneration in.
Dorjes J 1968 (citation)- lists.
Apelt G 1969 (citation)- p 268- notes Hyman observation of copulation in.
Taylor DL 1971 (citation)- series of reports on chemical exchange with symbionts.
Henley C 1974 (citation)- notes work of Hanson on asexual reproduction in this species.
Tyler S 1976 (citation)- p 56 adhesive papillae in.
Hanson ED 1977 (citation)- p 509 on phylogeny.
Taylor DL 1984 (citation)- good bibliography and review of literature, note he had cultures of 
	Amphiscolops and its symbionts. Amphiscolops langerhansi work in Cambridge, Maryland, USA. 
	
Dorjes J, Young JO 1973 (citation)- lists.  	
Dorjes J, Karling TG 1975 (citation)- Swedish Museum of Natural History.  Mediterranean
Yamasu T, Okazaki A 1987 (citation)- in species list.

[Bush note:  This species is common near Miami, Florida, USA- collected in grass and on
	algae from flats around Key Biscayne and in Bear Cat Pass near the Marine Institute-
	also form Ragged Keys on rocky material in 3 feet of water-  See drawings and slides]
	
	Bush collection at University of Maine, Biological Sciences.

Yamasu T 1991 (citation)-  "structure and function of ocelli and sagittocysts" in Acoels.  Electron microscopy
of structures.  Species used in study were: Praesagittifera naikaiensis, Praesagittifera gracilis,
Symsagittifera nitidae, Convoluta naviculae, Convoluta sp., Convoluta kikaiensis, Praesagittifera shikoki,
Amphiscolops langerhansi, Amphiscolops sp., Pseudaphanostoma sp.  

Taylor DL 1984 (citation)- "Translocation of carbon and nitrogen from the turbellarian host Amphiscolops
langerhansi (Turbellaria: Acoela) to its algal endosymbiont Amphidinium klebsii (Dinophyceae)."

Notes for the valid (accepted) taxonomic name

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