Taxonomy and distribution of three species of Barleeia (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Littorinimorpha, Barleeiidae) in the intertidal zone off the coast of China, with description of a new species, Barleeia qilu Han, Qi & Kong, n. sp.

ABSTRACT

Barleeiids are common marine microgastropods worldwide. Three species of Barleeia (Barleeia annamitica, Barleeia qilu n. sp. and Barleeia dunedini) found in the intertidal zone off the coast of China are described in this study. Morphological comparisons and species delimitation analyses using the universal mitochondrial COI gene sequence showed the distinctiveness of three species. Barleeia qilu n. sp., differentiated by its pointed apex and sutural channelling, was identified as a new species following morphological observation and phylogenetic analysis. Barleeia dunedini, previously considered as Ansola angustata (Pilsbry, 1901), has emerged as a distinct species and is probably the most widely distributed barleeiid in China. Barleeia annamitica, which has a broader distribution than previously recorded, is reported in China for the first time. Additionally, we propose to reassign Ansola angustata to the genus Barleeia based on the phylogram. Morphological illustrations, diagnoses, descriptions, and their approximate distribution along the coast of China are provided for each species. This study improves our understanding of the species composition, distribution and diversity of Barleeia in the intertidal zone of China.

 

urn: lsid: zoobank.org:pub:7EFA6806-3A9E-40EC-A639-5AF4DB8D5CC7

KEYWORDS:

• Micromolluscs
• Morphology
• Molecular systematics
• New combination

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Tsuyoshi Takano from the Meguro Parasitological Museum, Japan, for providing photographs and sampling information of Barleeia angustata from Shimoda, Japan. Dr. Philippe Bouchet from Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, France, assisted in identifying Barleeia annamitica. Dr. Winston Ponder from the Australian Museum provided valuable advice and assistance in discerning the differences between the Barleeia qilu n. sp. and known species. Dr. Kazunori Hasegawa from the National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan, is thanked for his guidance and advice on identifying barleeiids from the Sino-Japanese region.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data are included in Supplementary Material files.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hainan Provincial Joint Project of Sanya Yazhou Bay and Technology City [grant number 320LH019]; Shandong Science and Technology Small and Medium Enterprises Innovation Ability Improvement Project [grant number 2021TSGC1240]; and the Qingdao Natural Science Foundation [grant number 23-2-1-166-zyyd-jch].