The larva of Gurjanovella littoralis was collected in March 2013 and is shown in two postures. Note two eyes, under which are cerebral ganglia and a posterior cirrus (left) at 7 o'clock. Scale 100 µm.
Gurjanovella littoralis
Sequence Data: 16S, COI
Observed in Coos Bay: March
The larva of Gurjanovella littoralis resembles that of Posiedonemertes collaris but lacks the reddish anterior pigment seen in P. collairs. The single individual we observed, was also paler. Prominent apical tuft is lacking, but there is a short posterior cirrus.
Gurjanovella littoralis is a species described from the White Sea in western Russia (Uschakov 1926) and is not reported in the most recent assessment of intertidal nemerteans from central CA to OR (Roe et al. 2007). However, this species has been collected in False Bay, Friday Harbor WA (Maslakova pers. obs.) and the larvae are present in southern OR as well. The 16S rDNA gene region (amplified with 'unversal' Palumbi primers) was identical in this larva (above), G. littoralis from the White Sea, and G. littoralis from Puget Sound, Washington.