An updated inventory of sea slugs from Koh Tao, Thailand, with notes on their ecology and a dramatic biodiversity increase for Thai waters
Author
Mehrotra, Rahul
Reef Biology Research Group. Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand & Aow Thai Marine Ecology Center, Koh Mun Nai, Kram, Klaeng District, Rayong 21110, Thailand
Author
A. Caballer Gutierrez, Manuel
American University of Paris, Department of Computer Science Math and Environmental Science, 6 rue du Colonel Combes, 75007 Paris, France & Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, 55 rue de Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Author
M. Scott, Chad
Conservation Diver. 7321 Timber Trail Road, Evergreen, Colorado, 80439, USA
Author
Arnold, Spencer
Conservation Diver. 7321 Timber Trail Road, Evergreen, Colorado, 80439, USA
Author
Monchanin, Coline
Aow Thai Marine Ecology Center, Koh Mun Nai, Kram, Klaeng District, Rayong 21110, Thailand & Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France
Author
Viyakarn, Voranop
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2089-6356
Reef Biology Research Group. Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Author
Chavanich, Suchana
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6266-7300
Reef Biology Research Group. Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand & Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
suchana.c@chula.ac.th
text
ZooKeys
2021
2021-06-09
1042
73
188
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1042.64474
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1042.64474
1313-2970-1042-73
9CF986D86A474E179A67245C78FB8AFD
1BB0A10A35DD5541850FDAFFDB7119C2
*
Migaya sp.
Figure 8A
Material examined.
One specimen
3 mm
, LB.
Ecology.
In soft sediment habitats outside the coral reef. Depth 24 m.
Distribution.
Currently known only from the Gulf of Thailand, documented here for the first time.
Remarks.
Ortea Rato et al. (2014)
described the genus
Migaya
to hold all the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific cephalaspideans that were found to cluster (subclade B.2.) with
Aglaja felis
Er. Marcus & Ev. Marcus, 1970 in the molecular phylogeny inferred by
Camacho-Garcia
et al. (2013)
. These authors transferred
A. felis
to the genus
Nakamigawaia
Kuroda & Habe, 1961 based on the apparently wide distribution of
A. felis
in the Indo-Pacific, assuming that they could only belong to the Japanese genus
Nakamigawaia
because of the similarities in their external morphology and colouration, but they did not include representatives of the type species of the genus,
N. spiralis
Kuroda & Habe, 1961, in their study, nor any other co-generic species coming from Japan.
Ortea Rato et al. (2014)
compared the shells
N. spiralis
with those of
A. felis
in the context of a wide-range shell comparison including all the
Aglajidae
, and concluded that both species belonged to different genera, consequently describing the genus
Migaya
. Afterwards,
Zamora-Silva and Malaquias (2018)
published a new molecular phylogeny based on a wider taxonomical sampling within the
Aglajidae
in which they synonymised the genus
Migaya
and transferred
A. felis
to the genus
Nakamigawaia
. Again, these authors did not include representatives of
N. spiralis
from Japan, but similar species from Australia and Papua New Guinea, without checking their internal anatomies. For these reasons, given the high rate of endemicity of the Japanese sea slugs, and after the study of the shell of the specimen from Thailand (bearing a similar shell to that of
M. felis
), we prefer to maintain the genus
Migaya
until representatives of
N. spiralis
from Japan are sequenced and compared in a phylogenetic context.
Figure 8.
A
Migaya
sp. 3 mm
B
Siphopteron makisig
3 mm
C
Siphopteron
sp. 3 mm (photograph by Will Malsukum)
D
Philine orca
3 mm
E
Aplysia kurodai
30 mm (photograph by Geoffrey Chamayou)
F
Aplysia nigrocincta
9 mm
G
Bursatella cf. ocelligera
65 mm (photograph by Elouise Haskin)
H
Stylocheilus longicauda
45 mm (photograph by Kirsty Magson)
I
Stylocheilus striatus
29 mm
J
Berthella cf. caledonica
10 mm
K
Berthella martensi
60 mm (photograph by Paddy Steele)
L
Pleurobranchus forskalii
130 mm (photograph by Tine Kvamme).