External morphology and anatomy of Pseudunela marteli is the same as in Pseudunela viatoris with the following exceptions:[2]
Colour of digestive gland is greenish or orange-brownish.[2] Eyes (30–35 μm) are pigmented and well visible externally.[2] Foot length is up to half of the visceral hump.[2] Subepidermal spicules are more abundant in cephalic tentacles, foot and visceral hump.[2]
digestive system: the radula formula is 57–59×1.1.?; rhachidian tooth with 3–4 denticles per side.[2]
reproductive system: the hollow curved penial stylet measures 130 μm in length, the stylet of basal finger is 30 μm long.[2] The ampulla is sac-like; allosperm receptacles are absent in the examined specimen.[2] The albumen and mucous glands are tubular; the membrane gland is sac-like.[2]
Photo of a dorsal view of a live Pseudunela marteli. Body size is 3 mm. lt – labial tentacle, rh – rhinophore, ey – eye, hb – heart bulb, f – foot, vh – visceral hump.
Ecology
Pseudunela marteli is a minute species that lives in the spaces between sand grains in saltwater habitats, and it is thus considered to be a mesopsammic, marine interstitial animal that is part of the meiofauna of marine sands.[2]
References
This article incorporates CC-BY-2.5 text from the reference[2]
^ abcdefghijklmnoNeusser T. P., Jörger K. M. & Schrödl M. (2011). "Cryptic Species in Tropic Sands – Interactive 3D Anatomy, Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Meiofaunal Pseudunelidae (Gastropoda, Acochlidia)". PLoS ONE6(8): e23313. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023313.
