Document of bibliographic reference 361806

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Photographic checklist, DNA barcoding, and new species of sea slugs and snails from the Faafu Atoll, Maldives (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia and Vetigastropoda)

Abstract

Baseline biodiversity data are key for ecological and evolutionary studies and are especially relevant for areas such as the Maldivian Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which can act as a stepping-stone for the transport of widely distributed marine species. We surveyed the islands and reefs of the Faafu and Malé Atolls with snorkeling and scuba diving, collecting the two gastropod subclasses, Heterobranchia and Vetigastropoda. Our inventory comprises 104 species photographed alive to create an identification guide. We also provide COI barcodes for most species, adding novel sequence data for the Maldivian malacofauna. Half of our species represent new records for the Maldives, emphasizing how much diversity remains to be discovered. Species distributions reflect ecological rarity, with almost 60% of taxa only found in one site. We also compiled a comprehensive checklist of heterobranchs and vetigastropods of the Maldives based on literature records, resulting in 320 species, which, together with barcoding data, indicate several potential cryptic species in the Indo-Pacific. Six new species are described, the nudibranchs Limenandra evanescenti n. sp., Eubranchus putnami n. sp., Sakuraeolis marhe n. sp., Moridilla maldivensis n. sp., Tergiposacca perspicua n. sp., and the sacoglossan Costasiella fridae n. sp.

WebOfScience code

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000939054500001

Bibliographic citation

Cunha, T.J.; Fernández-Simón, J.; Petrula, M.; Giribet, G.; Moles, J. (2023). Photographic checklist, DNA barcoding, and new species of sea slugs and snails from the Faafu Atoll, Maldives (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia and Vetigastropoda). Diversity 15(2): 219. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15020219

Topic

Marine

Is peer reviewed

true

Access rights

open access

Is accessible for free

true