A stomach plate to divide them all: a phylogenetic reassessment of the family Tritoniidae (Nudibranchia: Cladobranchia)

Abstract The phylogeny of the family Tritoniidae has recently been studied with significant advances, but the relationships between genera are still controversial. In our study, we investigated the phylogeny of Tritoniidae using the most diverse taxon sampling possible. We applied an integrative app...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
Main Authors: De Vasconcelos Silva, Felipe, Pola, Marta, Cervera, Juan Lucas
Other Authors: University of Cádiz
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad013
https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-pdf/199/2/445/51814789/zlad013.pdf
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Summary:Abstract The phylogeny of the family Tritoniidae has recently been studied with significant advances, but the relationships between genera are still controversial. In our study, we investigated the phylogeny of Tritoniidae using the most diverse taxon sampling possible. We applied an integrative approach based on new sequences of two mitochondrial genes (COI and 16S), a nuclear gene (H3) and morpho-anatomical characters. The monophyly of the family Tritoniidae was not recovered in our phylogenetic analyses. In view of our results, we propose a new rearrangement at the subfamily and genus levels. The plate-bearing genera are raised to the subfamily level as the monophyletic Marioniinae subfam. nov., formed by Marionia and the reinstated Marioniopsis. The remaining plate-less genera are raised to the subfamily level as the monophyletic Tritoniinae Lamarck, 1809. The genus Myrella is reinstated to assign the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic tritoniids. The taxonomic status of the monotypic Tritonidoxa is confirmed. Species delimitation analyses reveal a new large Marionia species from the Gulf of Cádiz (south-west Spain, Atlantic Ocean) and evidence for the pseudocryptic speciation of numerous Atlantic–Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific tritoniids. Finally, taxonomic notes are provided for several species according to the proposed rearrangement.