Pyuridae

# 3858 A, small individual, 1 cm across out of tunic. Tunic covered with very long slender tunic spines / tubercles. Siphons striped red and white.

Description. External features: Specimens are oval, with a white translucent test and light chocolate brownish siphons and usually some epibionts on the test (Fig. 2 a & b). The siphons are not protruding but nevertheless conspicuous in relaxed preserved specimens. Both siphons have four lobes. Internal anatomy: When removed from the tunic, the body wall is thick and opaque with long barbed calcareous spicules (Fig. 2 c – e). Spicules are about 0.3 to 0.8 mm in length. Body musculature is ribbon-like, originating from each siphon, the muscle bundles crossing anteriorly but not extending to the posterior end of the body (Fig. 3 a). From the branchial siphon there are 20 and from the atrial siphon 15 longitudinal muscles, with circular muscles on the siphons. The dorsal tubercle is C-shaped with in-rolled horns in all the specimens (Fig. 2 f). The prepharyngeal area is wide and without papillae. There are 22 oral tentacles in 3 irregular orders; all are with 4 th order branching (Fig. 3 b & c). Tentacles are at the base of a thin velum. The dorsal lamina is short, with about 27 – 34 small and sharp languets. There are 12 folds per side in the branchial sac in each specimen, with no variation found in the number of branchial folds (Fig. 3 d & e). Branchial formulae: E 1 (6) 1 (8) 1 (11) 1 (14) 2 (15) 2 (14) 2 (17) 2 (17) 2 (16) 1 (14) 1 (12) 2 (10) 2 DL Right side (Holotype) Stigmata are straight with parastigmatic vessels and 8 – 14 stigmata counted per mesh (Fig. 3 f). The gut forms an elongated loop with wide opening (Fig. 4 a). The intestine is of equal diameter throughout its length. There are two unequal hepatic lobes (Fig. 4 a). Each rounded hepatic papilla is pointed at the tip (Fig. 4 b & c). The anal border has two lobes each of which is further divided into 6 smaller rounded lobes (Fig. 4 d). The gonads are long and curved. Both the sperm duct and oviduct openings are fringed with long, thin, papillae (Fig. 4 e & f). The oviduct opening is attached to the body wall. The sperm duct opening has 9 – 16 papillae; the oviduct opening has 15 – 18 papillae.

Genus: Herdmania Lahille, 1888 Herdmania andamanensis sp. nov.

Etymology. The described species was collected from the Andaman group of islands. Hence the species name is coined as Herdmania andamanensis sp. nov.

Material Examined. Holotype: One specimen (5.2 cm wide and 5.7 cm long) was collected on 05. x. 2016 from Sir Hugh Rose Island (Lat.: 11 ° 46.975 ʹN; Long.: 93 ° 04.566 ʹE), Ritchie's Archipelago, of South Andaman at the depth of 10 m (Fig. 1) (ZSI / ANRC - 16545). Paratypes: Two specimens (3.1 cm wide and 3.9 cm long; 3 cm wide and 2.6 cm long) collected along with the holotype specimen (see above) were documented as paratypes (ZSI / ANRC - 16546). Two specimens (4.4 cm wide and 4.4 cm long; 4 cm wide and 3.5 cm long) were collected on 26. x. 2016 from Table Delgarno Island (Lat.: 13 ° 24.413 ' N; Long.: 93 ° 05.100 ' E), of North Andaman at the depth of 8 m (Fig. 1) (ZSI / ANRC - 16547).