Redescription of the Cephalaspidea gastropod Atys jeffreysi (Weinkauff, 1866) (Haminoeidae), with a discussion on the phylogenetic affinities of the Mediterranean species of the genus

ABSTRACT

Atys jeffreysi is a heterobranch Cephalaspidea gastropod belonging to the family Haminoeidae occurring in the Mediterranean Sea, Madeira and Canary archipelagos. Nearly nothing is known about the internal anatomical features of this species. In this paper we redescribe the species A. jeffreysi based on fine anatomical work and scanning electron microscopy. DNA barcodes are provided for the first time for A. jeffreysi and A. macandrewii, the only two species of the genus native in the Mediterranean Sea. The genetic distance (COI uncorrected p-distance) between them is estimate at 21.6%. A Bayesian molecular phylogeny based on the gene marker cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) including all sequences available of the genera Aliculastrum, Liloa and Atys species did not support a sister relationship between the two Mediterranean species and suggests that they are more closely related to distinct Indo-West Pacific lineages. The complex systematics of the genus Atys is briefly discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Barcode
• biodiversity
• bubble shells
• DNA
• heterobranchia
• phylogeny

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank L. Lindblom, K. Meland and S. Thorkildsen (Biodiversity Laboratories; BDL, DNA Section, University Museum of Bergen /Department of Biology, University of Bergen) for help with molecular work. We are grateful to K. Kongshavn (University Museum of Bergen) for advice on preparing and photographing the specimens, to A. Salvador and J. Ablett (Natural History Museum, London) for their assistance in the study of type material, and to E. Erichsen and I. Heggestad (Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bergen) for assistance with SEM.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.