Abstract
Aeolidida is one of the largest clades of nudibranchs with at least 560 known species. However, its systematics has not been studied in a comprehensive manner. Phylogenetic analyses of larger clades such as Nudibranchia or Cladobranchia have usually included a poor sample of aeolids. Furthermore, phylogenetic studies at the family or generic level in Aeolidida are a few and far between. The first molecular phylogeny of the aeolid family Aeolidiidae is presented here. This study, the most comprehensive for Aeolidida to date, uses new sequences of two mitochondrial (COI and 16S) genes and one nuclear gene (H3). 251 specimens from members of seven families of Aeolidida, including 39 species of Aeolidiidae were studied. Excluding Pleurolidia juliae, Aeolidiidae is monophyletic. Our results resolve the systematic relationships within the Aeolidiidae at a generic level, requiring changes in the systematics of this family. Spurilla, Anteaeolidiella, Limenandra and Aeolidia are well-supported and monophyletic clades. Aeolidiella stephanieae is transferred to Berghia and Aeolidiopsis ransoni and Spurilla salaamica to Baeolidia, to maintain the monophyletic lineages reflected in this study. The systematics of Cerberilla remains unclear. Some species earlier attributed to Aeolidiella are now grouped in a previously unnamed clade that we designate as Bulbaeolidia gen. nov.
Highlights
Aeolidida contains about a dozen families constituted by approximately 560 described species [1]
Voucher specimens are held in the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, California Academy of Sciences Invertebrate Zoology (CASIZ) (San Francisco, USA), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN (Madrid, small population from western Andalusia (Spain)), Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Sao Paulo, MZSP (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, MNRJ (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), University Museum of Bergen, ZMBN (Bergen, Norway) or Zoologische Staatssammlung Munchen, ZSM (Munich, Germany)
Bootstrap values were lower than posterior probabilities in larger clades, the topologies of the Maximum likelihood (ML) trees were congruent with the results yielded by Bayesian analyses
Summary
Aeolidida contains about a dozen families constituted by approximately 560 described species [1]. The vast majority of the aeolids possess a uniseriate radula, some genera have lateral teeth (e.g. Flabellina spp, Eubranchus spp, Notaeolidia spp) It constitutes the second largest group of Nudibranchia [2], few phylogenetic studies have been undertaken so far. Most of the phylogenetic studies focused on higher taxa, such as Heterobranchia, Euthyneura, Opisthobranchia, Nudibranchia or Cladobranchia include some aeolid species [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26]. Martin et al [27] rejected the monophyletic status of Aeolidida after including Hancockia and Embletonia
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