Vibilia gibbosa Bovallius 1887

Vibilia gibbosa Bovallius, 1887

Vibilia gibbosa Bovallius, 1887: 7; Brusca, 1981: 8 (key), 39, fig. 4h; Vinogradov et al., 1996: 242 (key), 262‒265, fig. 107; Shih & Hendrycks, 2003: 255 (tab. 1), 256 (tab. 2), 293 (key); Zeidler, 2003: 12 (key), 20‒23, figs. 5‒6; García Madrigal, 2007: 145 (list); Guillén Pozo, 2007: 20 (key), fig. 5, 121 (tab. 1), 144‒171 (passim), 149 (tab. 40); Lavaniegos & Hereu, 2009: 142 (tab. 1), 146 (tab. 2), 151 (appendix 1); Lavaniegos, 2014: 4 (tab. 1).

Material examined. 2 F from one locality (Fig. 3). TALUD V. St. 5 (22°00’57”N, 106°40’00”W), December 13, 2000, 2F, MN from surface to ca. 1400 m (TD> 1600 m) (ICML-EMU-12852).

Distribution. Most common in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, but has also been recordeed from the Pacific Ocean SE of Japan, and in the tropical waters of the East Pacific, probably including California (Vinogradov et al. 1996). It is absent from the Indian Ocean (Zeidler 2003).

Remarks. The Californian records were based on juvenile specimens (Vinogradov et al. 1996). Gasca & Browne (2018) found some juveniles associated with Salpa maxima Forskål, 1775. Specimens observed herein are also juveniles and there is a possibility they are in fact juveniles (8.5 mm total length) of V. borealis Spence Bate & Westwood, 1868, a very similar species which has been recorded in the Mexican Pacific by Gasca et al. (2012). Vinogradov et al. (1996) recorded males and females of V. gibbosa of 7 mm and 8 mm only, respectively. Genetic studies could be necessary to help define which species occur in the northern hemisphere.