Description of a new pseudocryptic species of Elysia Risso, 1818 (Heterobranchia, Sacoglossa) in the Mediterranean Sea
Martín-Hervás, M.R.; Carmona, L.; Jensen, K.R.; Licchelli, C.; Vitale, F.; Cervera, J.L. (2020). Description of a new pseudocryptic species of Elysia Risso, 1818 (Heterobranchia, Sacoglossa) in the Mediterranean Sea. Bull. Mar. Sci. 96(1): 127-144. https://dx.doi.org/10.5343/bms.2018.0087
In: Bulletin of Marine Science. University of Miami Press: Coral Gables. ISSN 0007-4977; e-ISSN 1553-6955, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Martín-Hervás, M.R.
- Carmona, L.
- Jensen, K.R.
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- Licchelli, C.
- Vitale, F.
- Cervera, J.L.
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| Abstract |
A new sacoglossan species of the genus Elysia Risso, 1818 from southern Italy is described based on its external morphology, colour pattern, radular teeth and reproductive system. Specimens of this new species were previously attributed to Elysia viridis (Montagu, 1804) because of morphological similarity, but maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses based on four genes (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA and nuclear 28S rRNA and Histone 3), including 28 additional species of Elysia from the Atlantic area, showed that they are distinct. In addition, in order to determine the identity of these specimens, different species delimitation analyses (Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, ABGD; General Mixed Yule Coalescent, GMYC and Bayesian Poisson Tree Processes, bPTP) were carried out. The molecular results support the validity of this new species of Elysia from the Mediterranean Sea, named Elysia rubeni sp. nov. This new species is characterized by a bright light greenish ground colour due to the abundance of kleptoplasts, and it can be distinguished by its brightly blue specks and minute sparkling yellow dots scattered along the body, as well as its smooth and greyish rhinophores. |
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