Preliminary phylogenetic inference of the genus Dondice Marcus Er. 1958 (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) with the description of a new species from the Mediterranean Sea. Systematics of the Dondice genus

A preliminary phylogenetic reconstruction of the Dondice nudibranch genus, based on an integrative taxonomical approach, was explored and relationships occurring among other correlated genera were determined. Phylogenetic analyses with the mostly used markers in nudibranchs, the nuclear H3 gene and the two mitochondrial 16S rDNA and COI were integrated with information from anatomical analyses. The Mediterranean nudibranch diversity has yet to be thoroughly studied since new species are constantly discovered and some cryptic species identified only by recent molecular approaches. In the frame of this phylogenetic study, Dondice trainitoi sp. nov. is here described based on specimens collected from the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). Morphological, anatomical and molecular analyses were carried out to assess the diagnostic characters of this new taxon, and to compare them with those of the other members of the genus.

本研究采用整合分类学方法，针对裸鳃海蛞蝓的多尼丝属（Dondice）开展初步系统发育重建，厘清了该属与其他相关类群间的系统发育关系；研究整合了裸鳃海蛞蝓研究中常用的三类分子标记——核基因H3、线粒体16S rDNA与COI基因的序列数据，并结合形态解剖学信息完成系统发育分析。地中海海域的裸鳃海蛞蝓多样性尚未得到系统全面的研究，当前仍不断有新物种被发现，且部分隐存物种仅能通过现代分子手段得以甄别。在本次系统发育研究框架下，研究人员基于采自地中海第勒尼安海中部的标本，对新种Dondice trainitoi sp. nov.进行了正式记述；研究人员通过形态学、解剖学与分子生物学分析，对该新分类单元的鉴别特征进行了评估，并与该属其他类群的对应特征开展了对比研究。