The Doto coronata species complex, elongate Dotos, and molecular systematics of Dotidae

• Main Author: Carissa Roseanna Shipman
• Other Authors: Terrence Gosliner, Sarah Cohen, Greg Spicer
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco State University 2014
• Subjects: Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/131879

This molecular systematic study of the nudibranch family Dotidae encompasses 29 taxa from the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, and 30 from the Indo-Pacific. Mitochondrial genes, 16S, COl, and the nuclear gene, H3, were sequenced for 50 individuals and Bayesian and RAxML concatenated analyses were run. The Dotidae is monophyletic where the elongate Indo- Pacific clade is sister to the larger clade with short- bodied individuals. Eighteen of the Indo-Pacific taxa are distinct species based on their pairwise distances. Individuals within the Doto coronata complex were incorporated since this species represents the type for the genus Doto. Based on the molecular data, the South African D. coronata is a distinct species. Four new species from the Indo-Pacific are described along with the South African D. coronata. The true D. coronata is re-described and a neotype is finally designated after 222 years since its original description.