On the species of the genus Actinia (Actiniaria: Actiniidae) occurring along the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula: a molecular and morphological approach
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1
MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Portugal
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2
ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Portugal
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3
Fundación Museo del Mar de Ceuta, Spain
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4
Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Department of Ecology, Czechia
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5
National Museum, Czechia
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6
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Ireland
Species identification in sea anemones requires, in most situations, morphological analysis of cnidom structures of preserved individuals. However, in the genus Actinia, several species were described in the last years based on genetic analysis using allozimes. Recently, the sequencing of selected genes allowed the identification of two distinct genetic groups of Actinia co-occurring in the Portuguese coast. In the present work, a combined approach of morphological analysis and DNA sequencing was used to further investigate and resolve taxonomy of Actinia species occurring along the Atlantic Iberian coast. A nuclear and a mitochondrial ribosomal genes (28S and 16S respectively) were sequenced from 140 individuals of Actinia collected in the Portuguese and Spanish coasts and they were analyzed together with all previously published sequences for the same localities. These sequences were compared with the ones from individuals collected in selected localities (Ireland and Greece) where A. equina and A. fragacea or A. schmidti unambiguously occur. Color patterns combined with morphological analysis of cnidom structures of individuals from each distinct genetic group revealed the occurrence of three species along the Iberian coast – Actinia equina, A. fragacea and A. schmidti.
Keywords:
Actinia equina,
Actinia fragacea,
Actinia schmidti,
Cnidaria,
Iberian Peninsula
Conference:
IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016, Peniche, Portugal, 14 Jul - 15 Jul, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster presentation
Topic:
Biodiversity, Conservation and Coastal Management
Citation:
Pereira
AM,
Cadeireiro
E,
Ocaña
O,
Vukic
J,
Sanda
R,
Mirimin
L and
Robalo
JI
(2016). On the species of the genus Actinia (Actiniaria: Actiniidae) occurring along the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula: a molecular and morphological approach.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.04.00070
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Received:
21 Apr 2016;
Published Online:
13 Jul 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Ana M Pereira, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Lisboa, Portugal, ana_pereira@ispa.pt