On the anatomy and taxonomy of Cerebratulus hepaticus Hubrecht, 1879 (Nemertini) from the Mediterranean (Banyuls-sur-Mer)

The anatomy of an insufficiently described species of heteronemertine, Cerebratulus hepaticus, is redescribed. The species is characterized by, inter alia, a cephalic lacuna with strands of longitudinal muscle fibres, a proboscis with three muscle layers, neurochord cells in the brain, a dermis in the foregut region with no or few longitudinal muscle fibres which is separated from the outer longitudinal muscle layer by connective tissue. The taxon is compared with two other Cerebratulus species, C. fuscus and C. marginatus. The material was collected at Banyuls-sur-Mer (France) in the Mediterranean.