Shallow water heterobranch sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from the Región de Atacama, northern Chile

Abstract

The coast of northern Chile has been sparsely studied in regards to its invertebrate fauna, with just a few works reviewing the distribution of local mollusks. This work presents a survey of the shallow water heterobranch sea slugs currently occurring around the port of Caldera (27 °S), in the Región de Atacama, northern Chile. Eight species of sea slugs were found in this study: Aplysiopsis cf. brattstroemi (Marcus, 1959), Baptodoris peruviana (d’Orbigny, 1837), Diaulula variolata (d’Orbigny, 1837), Doris fontainii d’Orbigny, 1837, Onchidella marginata (Couthouy in Gould, 1852), Phidiana lottini (Lesson, 1831), Tyrinna delicata (Abraham, 1877) and the new species Berthella schroedli sp. nov., described herein. All of the species found in the area are endemic to South America, having distributions in the southeastern Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans, from Ancash, Perú to Peninsula Valdés, Argentina, and two of them represent species which are endemic to the Chilean coasts (Aplysiopsis cf. brattstroemi and Berthella schroedli). The finding of a previously undescribed species emphasizes the need of further surveys, particularly in subtidal and deeper waters, in order to improve the knowledge on this neglected fauna in Atacama.

On the presence of Chaetopleura hennahi(Gray, 1828) (Polyplacophora: Chaetopleuridae) in Chile

“…Considering the present record-and further unpublished records of Ischnochiton pusio (Sowerby I, 1832) and Tonicia swainsoni (Sowerby in Broderip and Sowerby, 1832) from the same areas-the polyplacophoran diversity of northern and southern Chile may be similarly rich in species, even when considering the vast differences in the geographic and oceanographic conditions along the long Chilean coast (Osorio and Reid, 2004;Aldea and Valdovinos, 2005;Schwabe et al, 2006). Further field studies such as those by Reiswig and Araya (2014), Sirenko (2014Sirenko ( , 2015, Araya and Aliaga (2015), Araya et al (2016), Araya (2016), and Araya and Valdés (2016), which have revealed several new records or even new species in northern Chile, are thus essential to document this fauna.…”

“…Further field studies such as those by Reiswig and Araya (2014), Sirenko (2014Sirenko ( , 2015, Araya and Aliaga (2015), Araya et al (2016), Araya (2016), and Araya and Valdés (2016), which have revealed several new records or even new species in northern Chile, are thus essential to document this fauna.…”

Peruvian nudibranchs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia): an updated literature review-based list of species

“…Other reports (occurrences) for this species in the Peruvian coast are Playa Tartacay (El Paraíso, Huaura, Lima, 11°13'44.9"S) ( Zanabria 2020e ), Isla Chuncho (Pucusana, Lima, 12°28'S) ( Guzman 2018a ; Cuba 2019 ) and Puerto General San Martín (Paracas Bay, Pisco, Ica, 13°48'37.3"S) ( Zanabria 2020d ). In Chile, it was reported in Playa Brava (Caldera, Atacama, 27°03'S), Calderilla (Atacama, 27°05'S) ( Araya and Valdés 2016 ), Punta Blanca (Arica, 18°29'S), Comau Fjord (42°15'S), and Melinka (Guaitecas islands, Chilean fjord region, 43°52'S) ( Schrödl 2003 ). Other reports (occurrences) for this species in the Chilean coast include Chascos Bay (Copiapó, Atacama, 27°40'S), Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt (Huasco, Atacama, 29°01'S), Coquimbo (29°58'S), Valparaíso (33°21'S), Concepción (36°45'S), Valdivia (39°57'S), and Chiloé (41°53'S) ( iNaturalist 2023a ).…”

“…comm.) to Strait of Magellan (Chile, 53°S) and Peninsula Valdés (Argentina, 42°S) ( Schrödl and Millen 2001 ; Uribe et al 2013 ; Araya and Valdés 2016 ).…”

“…In fact, the Peruvian sea is recognized as one of the impoverished regions worldwide in terms of nudibranch diversity ( Schrödl 1997 , 2002 , 2003 ; Schrödl and Hooker 2014 ). In comparison, other regions such as the Caribbean Sea, the Tropical Eastern Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea ( Sachidhanandam et al 2000 ; Valdés et al 2006 ; Chavanich et al 2013 ; Ah Shee Tee et al 2019 ; Furfaro et al 2020 ; Londoño-Cruz 2021 ), as well as other South American countries including Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela ( Fischer and Cervera 2005b ; Ardila et al 2007 ; Aldea et al 2011 ; Padula et al 2011 ; Alvim and Pimenta 2013 ; Gutiérrez et al 2015 ; Araya and Valdés 2016 ; Londoño-Cruz 2021 ) exhibit considerably higher richness of nudibranch species.…”