Gymnodoris bernardae De Souza-Canal & Valdés, 2025

Souza-Canal, Jade De & Valdés, Ángel, 2025, The genus Gymnodoris Stimpson, 1855 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) in New Caledonia, with descriptions of eleven new species, Zootaxa 5710 (1), pp. 1-73 : 67

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5710.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3A893C9C-17BF-43A0-84AF-6F8747C2ED45
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17883944
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/352687AF-FFCD-A762-FF55-4CA3FE36F823
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Gymnodoris bernardae De Souza-Canal & Valdés
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Gymnodoris bernardae De Souza-Canal & Valdés sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

( Fig. 18K View FIGURE 18 , 20C–D View FIGURE 20 , 21A View FIGURE 21 )

Type material. Holotype: New Caledonia: North Province: Koumac ( 20°36.7'S, 164°09.1'E), 10 m depth [Koumac 2.3 Expedition, stn. KR1057], 18 Nov 2019, 1 specimen 4 mm preserved length (MNHN-IM-2019-26511, isolate JD54). GoogleMaps

Description. Body narrow, elongate, smooth, with numerous small, conical tubercles. Velum distinct, narrow, forming an anterior protuberance with 4 small tubercles; notal rim absent, velum fuses with dorsum behind rhinophores ( Figs. 18K View FIGURE 18 ). Color translucent dirty-white, with network of opaque white pigment, tubercles yellow-orange; posterior end of foot translucent with same color pattern. Internal organs not visible through body wall. Rhinophores bulbous, with 9 lamellae, opaque white. Gill with 9 small, bipinnate, translucent leaves, arranged in row anterior to anus. Foot narrower than notum, opaque white. Oral tentacles absent.

Radular formula 6 × 9.0. 9 in the 4 mm preserved length holotype (MNHN-IM-2019-26511). All radular teeth similar in size, with broad bases, elongate slightly curved, blunt cusps ( Fig. 21A View FIGURE 21 ).

Reproductive system with a short, broad ampulla, connecting to female gland complex, prostate ( Fig. 20C View FIGURE 20 ). Prostate large, tubular, curved around bursa copulatrix, narrowing into a slightly convoluted deferent duct, opening into a common atrium with vagina. Vagina long, narrow, connecting into bursa copulatrix near seminal receptacle connection. Bursa copulatrix spherical, about three times as large as ovoid seminal receptacle. Penial spines triangular to elongate (about 20–80 µm long), with narrow bases ( Fig. 20D View FIGURE 20 ).

Phylogenetic position. Gymnodoris bernardae sp. nov. is the most basal member of a clade (PP: 1, MLB: 93) also including Gymnodoris feyae sp. nov., Gymnodoris sp. 60, and Gymnodoris striata (PP: 1, MLB: 100). The position of this clade in the overall phylogeny of Gymnodoris is unresolved ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ).

Etymology. This species is name in honor of Carole Bernard, who led the educational and outreach programs during the Koumac expeditions, to stress the importance of sharing the value of biodiversity with local and broader communities.

Remarks. Gymnodoris bernardae sp. nov. is externally very different from other species in its clade, including Gymnodoris feyae sp. nov., Gymnodoris sp. 60, and Gymnodoris striata , all of which have longitudinal ridges. No other species illustrated by Yonow (2008), Gosliner et al. (2018), Nakano (2018) or Knutson & Gosliner (2022) resemble this species.