Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

First record of Thysanozoon nigrum Girard, 1851 and Tytthosoceros nocturnus Newman and Cannon, 1996 (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) from the Gujarat coast, India

Volume 66 Issue 2

S. S. Nanda, Ajay Kumar and Kauresh Vachhrajani

doi:10.6024/jmbai.2024.66.2.2486-13

Abstract

Polyclad flatworms are a diverse group of colourful marine invertebrates with over 4,000 known species. Four species were encountered during the survey of the intertidal zone of the Okha coast. The present study provides the first occurrence record and description of two species of Polyclads: Thysanozoon nigrum Girard, 1851 and  Tytthosoceros nocturnus Newman & Cannon, 1996 from the Gujarat coast. Before this study, T. nocturnus had only been observed in Australia. At the same time, T. nigrum had been previously recorded in the sub-tropical western Atlantic along the coast of Florida, Texas, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, as well as in the Indo-Pacific from the region around Singapore. 

Keywords

Polyclad, marine flatworm, new geographical range, Indian Ocean, Gujarat

Date : 21-11-2024