A morphological and molecular comparison between Elysia crispata and a new species of kleptoplastic sacoglossan sea slug (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) from the Florida Keys, USA

A comparison of Elysia (=Tridachia) crispata (Mörch, 1863) from the Virgin Islands with elysiid slugs from the mangrove swamps and canals in the Florida Keys that have previously been identified as E. crispata reveals many differences in habitat, gross and microscopic anatomy, food preferences of ju...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molluscan research 2006-01, Vol.26 (1), p.23-38
Main Authors: PIERCE, SIDNEY K., CURTIS, NICHOLAS E., MASSEY, STEVEN E., BASS, ANNA L., KARL, STEPHEN A., FINNEY, COLIN M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Elysia
Gastropoda
Marine
Mollusca
Opisthobranchia
Tridachia crispata
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Summary:A comparison of Elysia (=Tridachia) crispata (Mörch, 1863) from the Virgin Islands with elysiid slugs from the mangrove swamps and canals in the Florida Keys that have previously been identified as E. crispata reveals many differences in habitat, gross and microscopic anatomy, food preferences of juveniles, sources of symbiotic chloroplasts and their localization within the digestive tubules, radular morphology, and nucleic acid sequences of two genes. The differences between the two groups of slugs are such that the Florida Keys animals are considered to represent a new species, Elysia clarki.
ISSN:1323-5818
DOI:10.11646/mr.26.1.4