First Study on Marine Heterobranchia (Gastropoda, Mollusca) in Bangka Archipelago, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

As ephemeral, benthic, secondary consumers usually associated with sessile coral reef organisms, marine heterobranchs are good indicators of the health of marine tropical habitats. Thus, marine Heterobranchia have recently become a major target for monitoring programs. For this work, an extensive survey was made in Bangka Archipelago, the first of its kind in this area. Bangka Archipelago is composed of small islands and the adjacent coastline of North Sulawesi. The substrate is dominated by biogenic reefs and volcanic rocks, thus forming highly diverse habitats. In total, 149 species were collected and/or photo-documented in September 2017 and September 2018, which represents the dry season. They can be assigned to the Cephalaspidea, Aplysiida, Pleurobranchida, Nudibranchia, and Eupulmonata. Thirty-three species are new to science, highlighting the lack of knowledge about the group and especially about this region. Our data provide a baseline for future monitoring surveys, as the anthropogenic pressures on Bangka Archipelago are increasing due to enhanced touristic activities, but also due to large scale environmental changes caused by previous mining operation activities.

An updated inventory of sea slugs from Koh Tao, Thailand, with notes on their ecology and a dramatic biodiversity increase for Thai waters

“…The taxonomic status of Thuridilla gracilis is at present unclear. Recent works ( Yonow and Jensen 2018 ; Papu et al 2020 ) have highlighted the significant variability of specimens ascribed to the species and questioned the synonymisation of multiple white-striped species of Thuridilla ( Gosliner 1995 ; Rudman 2000b ) under the single species T. gracilis . Indications suggest that the breadth of specimens currently considered as T. gracilis encompass a complex of species ( Händeler and Wägele 2007 ; Yonow and Jensen 2018 ; Papu et al 2020 ) that requires a comprehensive analysis utilising both morphological and molecular means.…”

Biodiversity hotspot in cold waters: a review of the genus Cuthonella with descriptions of seven new species (Mollusca, Nudibranchia)

“…It has been concluded that a rise in sea water temperature along a latitudinal gradient from the poles to the equator considerably increases biodiversity (e.g., Bickford et al, 2007). This is generally true for nudibranchs as there are many times the number of species in tropical waters compared to the number of species found in cold polar and temperate waters (e.g., Marshall & Willan, 1999;Martynov & Korshunova, 2012;Papu et al, 2020). However, for some groups of invertebrates biodiversity is higher in northern seas, e.g.…”

From Persian Gulf to Indonesia: interrelated phylogeographic distance and chemistry within the genus Peronia (Onchidiidae, Gastropoda, Mollusca)

“…According to our results, the hitherto unidentified specimen from Indonesia mentioned in Papu et al as Peronia sp. a 20 and in Maniei et al as P. sp.7 3 was placed in the clade 4, together with P. verruculata specimens from China and Australia. Therefore, we preliminarily assign this specimen from Indonesia to the species P. verruculata.…”