Untangling the Spurilla neapolitana (Delle Chiaje, 1841) species complex: a review of the genus Spurilla Bergh, 1864 (Mollusca: Nudibranchia: Aeolidiidae) |
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| Authors: | Leila Carmona Bonnie R. Lei Marta Pola Terrence M. Gosliner Ángel Valdés Juan Lucas Cervera |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEI·MAR), Universidad de Cádiz, , 11510 Puerto Real (Cádiz), Spain;2. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, , Cambridge, MA, 02138 USA;3. Departamento de Biología, Edificio de Biología, Campus de Excelencia Internacional UAM+CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, , 28049 Madrid, Spain;4. Department of Invertebrate Zoology, California Academy of Sciences, , San Francisco, CA, 94118 USA;5. Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, , Pomona, CA, 91768‐4032 USA |
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| Abstract: | Spurilla neapolitana (Delle Chiaje, 1823) was considered to be a species with a broad geographic range and substantial colour variability; however, analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear gene data revealed that it is a complex of five distinct species. Further anatomical and morphological examinations determined that coloration is one of the main diagnostic traits for all five species, although some display substantial colour pattern variation. As a result of this study, S. neapolitana is determined to be restricted to the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Spurilla sargassicola Bergh, 1871 from the Caribbean is redescribed and confirmed as a valid species. The name Spurilla braziliana MacFarland, 1909 is retained for western Atlantic and Pacific populations. Two new species are described herein. S purilla onubensis sp. nov. occurs in Europe, with a range overlapping that of S. neapolitana. Finally, S purilla dupontae sp. nov. is found in the Bahamas. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London |
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| Keywords: | cryptic species Heterobranchia Gastropoda marine biodiversity molluscan diversity phylogeny systematics taxonomy |
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