Portorchardia candela, Korshunova & Fletcher & Martynov, 2025

Portorchardia candela sp.nov.

( Figs 1, 2, 13, 18)

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Holotype: KM954 , L = 32 mm (live), north-eastern Pacific, USA, Washington State, Salish Sea, Rich Passage , west of Point Glover , stones, 14 m depth, 9 April 2018, coll. K. Fletcher.

Paratype: KM953 , L = 20 mm (live), north-eastern Pacific, USA, Washington State, Salish Sea, Point Hudson , Port Townsend , stones, 14.3 m depth, 21 May 2017, coll. K. Fletcher.

Etymology: See above under the new genus name.

Description

External morphology ( Fig. 18J–M, T) Body moderately narrow. Foot and tail moderate, anterior foot corners moderately long. Oral tentacles long. Rhinophores c. 1.5 times shorter than oral tentacles, or similar to its in size, with c. 10–14 thickened, sometimes fully reduced annulations. Dorsal cerata finger-shaped to fusiform, forming several clusters along dorsal edges. Apices of cerata gradually pointed, with elongate cnidosacs. Digestive glanddiverticulumfillssignificantvolumeofcerata.Analopening on right side below middle cluster of cerata. Reproductive openings lateral, below first anterior cluster of cerata.

Colour ( Fig. 18J–M, T) Background colour semi-transparent whitish to greyish. Branches of digestive system in cerata usually orange, orange-brownish to orange-reddish throughout most of the length with somewhat lighter, greyish bases. Cnidosacs in subapical parts of cerata yellowish-brownish or orange-brownish. Below bases of cnidosacs there may be a somewhat darker orange-reddish narrow area on cerata. Apical parts of cerata without opaque cap of white pigment. Rhinophores covered with whitish pigment over almost their entire length, apical areas of both rhinophores and oral tentacles may be covered with differing amounts of orange or orange-brownish pigment. White pigment lines on each oral tentacle are joined on head in front of rhinophores and then form a thin continuous white line that runs along dorsal side to the tail. Similar thin white line runs laterally on each side of body meeting with the dorsal line at the tail.

Jaws ( Fig. 18Q–S, X, Y) Jaws oval-triangular. Edge of masticatory processes bears up to about 40 denticles that may form up to at least 10 longitudinal rows of tubercles from internal side, diminishing toward inner part of the jaw. Denticles at very edge of masticatory processes thickened, compound and bear several tubercles.

Radula ( Fig. 18N–P, U–W) Radula formula in two specimens 13–15 × 1.1.1. Central teeth elongate-triangular with long, distinct non-compressed cusp. Central teeth bear up to at least nine well-defined, separate, long lateral denticles. Cusp moderately wide, strongly delineated from adjacent first lateral denticles. Lateral teeth broadly triangular with outer process distinctly attenuated posteriorly and up to at least 14 sharp, long denticles on internal edge.

Reproductive system ( Fig.18Z) Hermaphroditic duct leads to convoluted ampulla of about three whorls. Vas deferens short, distally attached to dorsal side of penial sheath, prostate indistinct. Penial sheath large, wide. Penis is a considerably folded. Oviduct connects through insemination duct into female gland complex. Proximal and distal receptaculum seminis elongate-oval placed at some distance to each other and distal receptaculum larger.

Ecology: Shallow water, upper subtidal, stony environment.

Distribution: So far known only from Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada in the NE Pacific.

Remarks: Three Portorchardia candela sp. nov. formed a separate highly-supported clade (PP = 1, BS = 100), and had the closest position to Fjordia , Gulenia , Himatina , and Corrupta gen. nov, but with low support (PP = 0.99, BS = 47; Fig. 13). Uncorrected COI p -distances within the P. candela sp. nov. clade are 0.6%– 1.1%. The COI minimal uncorrected p -distance of 9.3% was found between the P. candela sp. nov. and Fjordia browni . The COI maximal uncorrected p -distance of 16.2% was found between the P. candela sp. nov. and both Orienthella trilineata and Orienthella cf. verta . For more details see above after the new genus diagnosis.

Nomina dubia that must be excluded from the family Coryphellidae :

‘ Coryphella View in CoL (?) pallida View in CoL ’ Verrill, 1900 (original description in Verrill 1900, Bermuda)—nomen dubium, type material is most likely lost. It is a highly spurious taxon, definitely a nomen dubium, which was described without any internal details. With the genus placement it is impossible even to definitely assign it into the superfamily Flabellinoidea , not to mention that there is no indication that this taxon belongs to the family Coryphellidae View in CoL , therefore, ‘ C. pallida View in CoL ’ must be excluded from any reliable taxonomic or biogeographic considerations of the family Coryphellidae View in CoL .

‘ Cavolina subrosacea ’ Eschscholtz, 1831 —nomen dubium. Although O’Donoghue (1922b) considered ‘ Cavolina subrosacea ’ within the genus Coryphella View in CoL , the original figured external features of ‘ Cavolina subrosacea ’—with the presence of regular, rather than clustered, cerata and expanded semi-rounded rather than corner-like anterior foot edge (Eschscholtz 1831)— show that ‘ Cavolina subrosacea ’ definitely does not belong to the genus Coryphella View in CoL , or to the superfamilies Flabellinoidea and Flabellinopsoidea .

‘ Coryphella alderi ’ Adams, 1861 —nomen dubium. This taxon was very shortly described by Adams (1861) from Tsugaru Strait as having a general yellowish coloration, orange oral tentacles, yellowish rhinophores, (described as ‘barely annulated’, which may imply both that they may not really be annulated, but smooth and contracted, or truly annulated), yellowish cerata with reddish markings, without any further details, including the absence of any description of the radula. By this uncertain description it is difficult to suggest its correct taxonomic placement, but definitely this taxon does not belong to the genus Coryphella View in CoL , family Coryphellidae View in CoL , or to the superfamilies Flabellinoidea and Flabellinopsoidea .

Addition to the Synopsis of suborder Aeolidacea