Junoya, Chernyshev, 2025

Genus Junoya gen. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BAA60D51-B939-41A5-95E5-1FC38D48459B

Type species. Lineus acutifrons View in CoL Southern, 1913.

Diagnosis. Lineidae with lateral horizontal cephalic slits and caudal cirrus. Cutis glands form no distinct layer, some glands interspersed between outer longitudinal muscles of body wall, but cutis gland cells not reaching middle circular musculature of body. Proboscis typical heterotype, with outer longitudinal musculature (see Chernyshev 2015); muscle crosses not found; nerve plexus present. Rhynchodaeum divides blood lacuna into two cephalic blood vessels. Vascular blood plexus present in foregut region. Cerebral ganglia with outer neurilemma; neurochords and neurochord cells not found. One (?) frontal organ.

Generic composition. Junoya acutifrons (Southern, 1913) comb. n.

Remarks. Lineus acutifrons was re-described by Puerta et al. (2010) who considered this species close to those currently assigned to Lineage N. This was later confirmed by other phylogenetic studies of Lineidae ( Chernyshev & Polyakova 2019; Kajihara et al. 2022). In a recent phylogenetic analysis, Lineus acutifrons has been placed in Lineage N+P and is a sister species to the brackish-water Hinumanemertes kikuchii Iwata, 1970 ( Chernyshev & Polyakova 2023). In the latter species, however, the circulatory system forms a complex system in the cephalic region of the blood lacunae, and the proboscis has two crosses ( Iwata 1970). Lineus acutifrons cannot be assigned to any of the genera from Lineage N+P, and, therefore, a new genus has been established for it.

Etymology. The genus is feminine in gender, named to honor Dr. Juan Junoy who made a great contribution to the study of nemerteans in Spain, including Lineus acutifrons .