Abstract
The small conoidean Hemilienardia ocellata is one of the easily recognizable Indo-Pacific “turrids”, primarily because of its remarkable eyespot colour pattern. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed four species that share this “characteristic” colour pattern but demonstrate consistent differences in size and shell proportions. Three new species – Hemilienardia acinonyx sp. nov. from the Philippines, H. lynx sp. nov. from Papua New Guinea and H. pardus sp. nov. from the Society and Loyalty Islands – are described based on the results of phylogenetic analyses. Although the H. ocellata species complex clade falls in a monophyletic Hemilienardia, H. ocellata and H. acinonyx sp. nov. possess a radula with semi-enrolled or notably flattened triangular marginal teeth, a condition that diverges substantially from the standard radular morphology of Hemilienardia and other raphitomids.
Highlights
Colour patterns with eyespots are widespread in the animal world and have obviously a great adaptive significance (Allen et al 2011)
GTR + I + G was selected as a best fit substitution model for the COI, and HKY + I + G for the 16S rRNA gene
As the between-group genetic distances are greater than genetic distances between closely related species of conoideans found in our earlier studies (e.g., Puillandre et al 2009, 2010; Fedosov & Puillandre 2012), the genetic differences found within the H. ocellata species complex support the species hypotheses based on the identified morphospecies
Summary
Colour patterns with eyespots (ocellae) are widespread in the animal world and have obviously a great adaptive significance (Allen et al 2011). One of the iconic gastropod species with such a remarkable colour pattern is Hemilienardia ocellata (Jousseaume, 1884), a tiny shallow water Indo-Pacific raphitomid (Conoidea, Raphitomidae) The shell of this species is decorated with a bright yellow spiral line and regular olive green ovate spots fringed by brown, situated adapically of the yellow line in the interspaces between axial ribs, resembling a row of olives laid on a golden tray. This picturesque species, despite apparently being widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific This picturesque species, despite apparently being widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific (Jousseaume 1884; Hedley 1922; B.J. Smith 2003; Tröndlé & Boutet 2005; Héros et al 2007; Sysoev 2008), is, seldom encountered because of its minute size (its shell barely reaches a length of 5 mm), which helps it escape collecting by hand-picking
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