Malacological Society of Australasia

Molluscan Research

Volume 20, Number 1: 16 June 1999

Histological investigations on Dendrodoris nigra (Stimpson, 1855) (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia, Dendrodorididae)

Heike WŠgele (1) , Gilianne D. Brodie (2) and Annette Klussmann-Kolb (1)

(1) Lehrstuhl fur Spezielle Zoologie, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany (2) Department of Marine Biology & CRC Reef Research Centre, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Australia

The histology of the major organ systems (digestive, reproductive, nervous, circulatory, excretory and respiratory, as well as epidermis) of the nudibranch Dendrodoris nigra (Stimpson, 1855) are described for the first time and the results are compared with those derived from other members of the Doridoidea. It is shown that some characters which have been used to differentiate the genus Dendrodoris Ehrenberg, 1831 from other doridoideans (i.e., retractability of gills, lack of hard structures in the anterior digestive system, presence of pericardial glands) are problematic when used for phylogenetic analysis. This is especially true when taking into consideration that little is known about details of these structures in the Doridoidea as a whole.
Key words: Nudibranchia, Doridoidea, Dendrodoris nigra, histology, phylogeny.

pp. 79-94.