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Issue: Vol. 5716 No. 3: 31 Oct. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-10-31
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.3.2
Page range: 333-348
Abstract views: 59
PDF downloaded: 2

Description of a new genus of Chromodorididae with a taxonomic review of Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971) comb. nov. (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia)

Department of Invertebrates, National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, 875, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20941-160, Brazil
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, California 91768, USA
SNSB-Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Section Mollusca, Münchhausenstrasse 21, D-81247 Munich, Germany; Biozentrum Ludwig Maximilians University and GeoBio-Center LMU Munich, Germany
Department of Invertebrates, National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, 875, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20941-160, Brazil
Mollusca Heterobranchia Doridina Felimare Mexichromis morphology

Abstract

Recent molecular phylogenies have shown the polyphyly of widespread genera within the Chromodorididae. In this context, the genus Felimare was resurrected to include Eastern Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean species previously included in Hypselodoris, plus Mexichromis porterae (Cockerell, 1901) and Mexichromis kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971). The somewhat controversial genus Felimare currently includes species with different external, radular, and jaw shapes as well as different reproductive morphologies, resulting in the absence of a clear diagnosis for the genus. Here, we advance the systematics of Chromodorididae with emphasis on a group of small blue species of Felimare from the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Based on consistent morphological and molecular characteristics we describe a new genus, Neptunazurea gen. nov., that includes small chromodorids with mole-paw shaped jaw rodlets, a small radula compared to the body length, and a short, undifferentiated prostate. A taxonomic review of Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971) comb. nov. is presented. Comprehensive morphological studies are crucial for the study of chromodoridids, enabling the thorough evaluation of diagnostic traits and the effective integration of morphological data with molecular information.

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How to Cite

Ribeiro, A., García-Méndez, K., Valdés, Ángel, Schrödl, M. & Padula, V. (2025) Description of a new genus of Chromodorididae with a taxonomic review of Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971) comb. nov. (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia). Zootaxa, 5716 (3), 333–348. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.3.2