Meeting Abstract
Much evolutionary, ecological, and biodiversity research depends on an accurate understanding of species relatedness and robust phylogenies. Such an understanding is hindered by lack of observations, sampling, and misidentifications based on morphology alone. The presence of pseudocryptic and cryptic species often complicates this matter further. The addition of molecular characteristics has lead to the reinforcement as well as the restructuring of established systematic relationships. With more than 3,000 named species, nudibranchs are a group of commonly studied, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs; yet many clades remain unstudied. For the nudibranch family Goniodorididae, there has been no comprehensive phylogenetic analysis using molecular data. This study investigates the molecular phylogeny four of this family’s major genera: Goniodoridella, Goniodoris, Okenia and Trapania. By incorporating partial sequences of the molecular marker 18S into an existing data set of COI, 16S, and H3 sequences, we present several well-supported clades that have profound bearing on the nomenclature of this family. Our analysis confirms Trapania as a monophyletic genus, with strong support for biogeographically based clades within the Indo-Pacific, Eastern Pacific, and Atlantic. Contrary to their presumed monophyly, our data reveal confusion among Goniodoris, Goniodoridella, and Okenia. Nomenclature adjustments, identification of cryptic species, and confirmation of new species identification have brought to light previously unknown clades at the genus level. Our results continue to elucidate fundamental evolutionary relationships in the family Goniodorididae and lay a foundation for future evolutionary, ecological and conservation biology research.
