How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea?
Morphological traits in Haliotidae may be highly variable and not consistently diagnostic for species identification, highlighting the need for an integrative approach to the taxonomy of the family, including genetic data. Four species of the genus <i>Haliotis</i> are currently reported...
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/12/1107 |
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| author | Giacomo Chiappa Giulia Fassio Andrea Corso Fabio Crocetta Maria Vittoria Modica Marco Oliverio |
| author_facet | Giacomo Chiappa Giulia Fassio Andrea Corso Fabio Crocetta Maria Vittoria Modica Marco Oliverio |
| author_sort | Giacomo Chiappa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Morphological traits in Haliotidae may be highly variable and not consistently diagnostic for species identification, highlighting the need for an integrative approach to the taxonomy of the family, including genetic data. Four species of the genus <i>Haliotis</i> are currently reported for the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic Ocean: <i>Haliotis tuberculata</i>, the common European abalone with the widest Atlanto-Mediterranean range; <i>Haliotis mykonosensis</i>, from the Aegean, the Tyrrhenian, and the Adriatic; <i>Haliotis stomatiaeformis</i>, from Malta, Lampedusa, and southeastern Sicily; and the Lessepsian <i>Haliotis pustulata</i>, only known on the basis of few samples from the Levant. However, their taxonomic status still relies only on shell morphology. Here, sequences of two fragments of the mitochondrial molecular marker COI were obtained from 84 abalone specimens collected in the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic and analyzed in order to provide for the first time a genetic framework for species delimitation. This study’s results prove that <i>H. mykonosensis</i> is genetically identical to <i>H. tuberculata</i>, whereas <i>H. stomatiaeformis</i> is a distinct species, endemic to a restricted area of the southern Mediterranean Sea. Finally, <i>Haliotis tuberculata coccinea</i> from Macaronesia may deserve its status as a subspecies of <i>H. tuberculata,</i> with genetic signature of a limited gene flow found in specimens of the nominal subspecies (<i>H. t. tuberculata</i>) in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:06:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-82f957650c2945a482001977cf6b0825 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:06:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-82f957650c2945a482001977cf6b08252023-11-24T14:23:44ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-12-011412110710.3390/d14121107How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea?Giacomo Chiappa0Giulia Fassio1Andrea Corso2Fabio Crocetta3Maria Vittoria Modica4Marco Oliverio5Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyMISC, 96100 Siracusa, ItalyDepartment of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyMorphological traits in Haliotidae may be highly variable and not consistently diagnostic for species identification, highlighting the need for an integrative approach to the taxonomy of the family, including genetic data. Four species of the genus <i>Haliotis</i> are currently reported for the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic Ocean: <i>Haliotis tuberculata</i>, the common European abalone with the widest Atlanto-Mediterranean range; <i>Haliotis mykonosensis</i>, from the Aegean, the Tyrrhenian, and the Adriatic; <i>Haliotis stomatiaeformis</i>, from Malta, Lampedusa, and southeastern Sicily; and the Lessepsian <i>Haliotis pustulata</i>, only known on the basis of few samples from the Levant. However, their taxonomic status still relies only on shell morphology. Here, sequences of two fragments of the mitochondrial molecular marker COI were obtained from 84 abalone specimens collected in the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic and analyzed in order to provide for the first time a genetic framework for species delimitation. This study’s results prove that <i>H. mykonosensis</i> is genetically identical to <i>H. tuberculata</i>, whereas <i>H. stomatiaeformis</i> is a distinct species, endemic to a restricted area of the southern Mediterranean Sea. Finally, <i>Haliotis tuberculata coccinea</i> from Macaronesia may deserve its status as a subspecies of <i>H. tuberculata,</i> with genetic signature of a limited gene flow found in specimens of the nominal subspecies (<i>H. t. tuberculata</i>) in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/12/1107<i>Haliotis</i>haliotidaeCOIintegrative taxonomyspecies delimitation |
| spellingShingle | Giacomo Chiappa Giulia Fassio Andrea Corso Fabio Crocetta Maria Vittoria Modica Marco Oliverio How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea? Diversity <i>Haliotis</i> haliotidae COI integrative taxonomy species delimitation |
| title | How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea? |
| title_full | How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea? |
| title_fullStr | How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea? |
| title_short | How Many Abalone Species Live in the Mediterranean Sea? |
| title_sort | how many abalone species live in the mediterranean sea |
| topic | <i>Haliotis</i> haliotidae COI integrative taxonomy species delimitation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/12/1107 |
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