NEW SPECIES OF THE DORID NUDIBRANCH GENUS PARADORIS BERGH, 1884 (GASTROPODA, OPISTHOBRANCHIA) FROM NEW-ZEALAND

Paradoris leuca n.sp. is described and illustrated. The inclusion of this species, lacking glands equipped with solid stylers opening into the genital atrium, in Paradoris Bergh, 1884 widens further the generic characterization. The genus Paradoris is now less distinct from obviously related genera, e.g. Discodoris Bergh, 1877, but its status' must await a thorough examination of the constituent species of these genera. Owing to the patchy knowledge of the morphology and anatomy of the cryptobranch dorid genera, Paradoris is classified here simply as a member of the all-embracing cryptobranch Dorididae as originally perceived and not one of the subdivisions of it, e.g. the subfamily Discodoridinae or family Discodorididae. The new species is compared with the 4 recognized species. It is separable from all of them in lacking the atrial glands and, almost certainly, in having a white mantle.