Unveiling a new species of Trapania (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) from the South-eastern Pacific using anatomical and molecular tools

Uribe R.A.; Mendivil A.; Pastor R.; Atoche-Suclupe D.; Aleman S.; Flores L.; Sepulveda F. · Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2025) · DOI: 10.1017/s0025315424001188

Resumen

Morphological and molecular methods were used to describe a new species of Trapania Pruvot-Fol, 1931 from shallow water kelp forests on the north-central coast of Peru. The new species, Trapania huarmeyana sp. nov., is distinguished from other species along the Eastern Pacific by external morphological characters such as its translucent white body with brown stripes and small spots on the dorsum, blotches on the base of the extra-branchial processes, extra rhinophoral processes and gill branches. Internally, T. huarmeyana sp. nov. is distinguishable by several morphological characteristics of the radula, jaws and genital organs. Phylogenetic trees recovered using Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analysis of DNA sequences support its distinct status and clarify its relationship to other species from the Eastern Pacific. This new species constitutes the first record of Trapania from the Humboldt Current Ecosystem, contributing to our understanding of the distribution of the genus in the South-eastern Pacific. © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos