The little Aplysia coming of age: from one species to a complex of species complexes in Aplysia parvula (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia)
Author
Golestani, Haleh
Author
Crocetta, Fabio
Author
Padula, Vinicius
Author
Camacho-García, Yolanda
Author
Langeneck, Joachim
Author
Poursanidis, Dimitris
Author
Pola, Marta
Author
Yokeş, M. Baki
Author
Cervera, Juan Lucas
Author
Jung, Dae-Wui
Author
Gosliner, Terrence M.
Author
Araya, Juan Francisco
Author
Hooker, Yuri
Author
Schrödl, Michael
Author
Valdés, Ángel
text
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
2019
187
279
330
journal article
0024-4082
3A70B56-000D-4974-AAC6-F1B198C86BC4
APLYSIA
NORFOLKENSIS
G. B.
SOWERBY
II, 1869
Aplysia norfolkensis
G. B.
Sowerby II, 1869
: (216), pl. 10, fig. 42A–B.
Type
locality:
Norfolk Island
,
Australia
.
Type
:
Probably lost, not found at NHMUK (A. Salvador, pers. comm.).
Remarks
Sowerby II (1869)
introduced the name
Aplysia norfolkensis
based on a shell collected in
Norfolk Island
,
Australia
. The short description stated: ‘Shell horny, brown, arched, ventricose, obliquely subovate, thin, smooth; apex elevated, round, auriculated at the back; upper margin sloped, excavated; outer lip rather convex; lower margin rounded, dorsal margin arched; rounded, thinly reflected near the apex, obliquely inclined towards the lower end.’ The illustrations of the shell (
Sowerby II, 1869
: pl. 10, fig. 42A–B) represent an elongate brown specimen with a curved apex, very similar to other shells of
A. parvula
s.l.
here examined.
As in the previous case,
Eales (1960)
considered
A. norfolkensis
a synonym of
A. parvula
based on the shell morphology. However, in this study we have revealed the existence of several species with a similar shell morphology and it is virtually impossible to determine the identity of this species. Therefore,
A. norfolkensis
is here regarded as a
taxon inquirendum
.