A review of the family Clenchiellidae (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Truncatelloidea)
Author
Ponder, Winston F.
Author
Fukuda, Hiroshi
Author
Hallan, Anders
text
Zootaxa
2014
3872
2
101
153
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3872.2.1
e9b8d555-d661-4f1a-86e8-f2a0acc38798
1175-5326
253224
F9F81CC8-E033-46B7-B73B-9FB777DF4116
Biogeography of
Clenchiella minutissima
Clenchiella minutissima
is by far the most recorded clenchiellid species, and appears to have a widespread distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific (
Fig. 14
). Among the Australian individuals sequenced (four from Qld, one from NT, one from WA), there is negligible branch length throughout the east coast localities, with identical sequences obtained for three of the four Queensland individuals. The Darwin sequence differs marginally from those from Queensland, while the Port Hedland sequence exhibits the highest divergence within the
minutissima
clade. These preliminary results suggest that the highest degree of gene flow occurs along the Queensland coast, possibly attributed to the continuity of suitable habitat, in which the planktotrophic larvae of
Cl. minutissima
(as indicated by the protoconch) may be readily dispersed between estuarine systems. Conversely, as the Darwin locality is roughly equidistant to the WA and Queensland localities respectively, the greater sequence divergence and thus comparatively reduced gene flow between WA and NT are possibly due to the discontinuity of mangrove habitats along sections of the WA coast, notably along the Eighty Mile Beach situated between Broome and Port Hedland. However, based on the similarity in shell characters as well as the moderate topology and sequence divergence indicated by the molecular analysis, the conservative approach herein is to view these populations as conspecific.