Otinodoris White 1948

GENUS OTINODORIS WHITE, 1948

Otinodoris White, 1948: 203–204. Type species Otinodoris winckworthi White, 1948, by monotypy.

Diagnosis

Dorsum covered with ramified and elongate tubercles. Head with two flattened oral tentacles. Anterior border of the foot grooved and notched. Labial armature smooth. Radula composed of simple, hamate teeth. Reproductive system with a flattened, granular prostate, having two well differentiated regions. Penis armed with hooks. Vagina devoid of hooks and covered with a cuticular lining. Vestibular or accessory glands absent.

Remarks

White (1948) introduced the genus Otinodoris based on a single preserved specimen collected from Sri Lanka. The specimen was dissected but the reproductive system and the radula were only partially described. No more specimens of this species have been collected since the original description. Externally, Otinodoris winckworthi is characterized by ‘having branched processes on the mantle, ear-like oral tentacles and six branchiae’ (White, 1948).

Internally, this species has an armed penis and lacks a prostate. Re-examination of the drawings by White (1948) shows that she probably misinterpreted the reproductive system and regarded the prostate as the hermaphrodite gland. The prostate of this animal seems to be large and flattened. The radula has denticulate teeth similar to those of Taringa Er. Marcus, 1955 or Alloiodoris Bergh, 1904 (see Valdés & Gosliner, 2001), but other anatomical features appear to distinguish it from these two genera (presence of penial hooks in Taringa and absence of jaws in Alloiodoris).

Unfortunately, specimens of Otinodoris winckworthi were not available for the present study.

The examination of material belonging a new species of Otinodoris revealed that this genus shares numerous features with Peltodoris. The main differences between Peltodoris and Otinodoris are the presence or ramified tubercles and flattened oral tentacles in the later. Due to these two synapomorphies of Otinodoris, it is here maintained as a different taxon. According to the phylogenetic analysis carried out in this paper, there is insufficient resolution to determine the relationships between the genera. A more complete analysis, including all the species of both genera, is necessary to determine whether Otinodoris is a synonym of Peltodoris.