Abstract
Scaphander Montfort, 1810, is a genus of deep-sea, soft-bottom gastropods composed of approximately 23 species distributed worldwide. The systematics of the genus in the Atlantic was recently revised and eight species were recognized. The present study describes a new species (Scaphander meridionalis sp. n.) from the Argentine continental slope using morphological and molecular data. Shells, gizzard plates, radulae, and male reproductive systems were studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy and compared with data from all other known Scaphander species. Bayesian molecular phylogenetics based on two mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA) and one nuclear (28S rRNA) genes together with the molecular species delimitation method Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery were used to compare the novel samples with all known Atlantic species. Our results revealed that the Argentinian specimens have a distinct shell and penial papilla and were molecularly 6.35–6.53%, 6.9–7.44%, and 7.99–8.89% distinct (COI uncorrected p-distance) from their closest relatives, the Pacific species Scaphander grandis and Scaphander mundus, and the northern Atlantic species Scaphander nobilis, respectively. Scaphander meridionalis sp. n. is the first species only known from the South Atlantic and its occurrence off Argentina represents a new southern geographical limit of the distribution of the genus in the Atlantic Ocean.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.