Cryptostylochus hullensis sp. nov. (Polycladida, Acotylea, Platyhelminthes): A possible case of transoceanic dispersal on a ship's hull

Abstract

In July 1993, the car carrier "Faust" entered Bremerhaven after a voyage from the North-American Atlantic coast to Europe. In a dockyard, five living specimens of the order Polycladida were collected from the hull of the ship. This could be a possible case of trans-atlantic dispersal of plathelminths living as fouling organisms of ships. The specimens found represent a new species of the genus Cryptostylochus Faubel, 1983, Cryptostylochus hullensis sp. nov.