A synoptic review of the family Dendronotidae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia): a multilevel organismal diversity approach

Abstract

A synoptic review of the family Dendronotidae is presented based on morphological and molecular data. Three genera are recognized: Dendronotus, Pseudobornella, and Cabangus gen. nov. Two new Dendronotus species are described, D. yrjargul sp. nov. and D. nordenskioeldi sp. nov., which reveal fine-scale differences. Dendronotus yrjargul sp. nov. from mid-Norway and the Arctic regions is a sister species to the North Pacific D. kalikal. These two species are showing clear morphological and ontogenetic differences but are close in genetic distance. In contrast, Dendronotus nordenskioeldi sp. nov. from the Laptev Sea is externally similar to the white morphs of D. lacteus or D. frondosus, but according to the molecular data and radular Contributions to Zoology (2020) 1-61