The genus Siphonaria in southern South America

GÜLLER M., D. G. ZELAYA, B. DAYRAT Y C. ITUARTE

México DF

Congreso; Mollusca 2014: el Encuentro de las Americas. XIII RENAMAC, IX CAMA, LXXX AMS y XLVII WSM; 2014

The false limpets of the genus Siphonaria are pulmonate, algae grazing gastropods, which typically live in the rocky intertidal. Ten nominal species appear in the literature for the southern tip of South America, although in the latest comprehensive study of Siphonaria, Hubendick (1945) considered that only three species are valid. However, proper redescriptions of these three species and their intraspecific variability are still lacking.In this study, we performed a revision of the Siphonaria species from the Argentine and Magellanic biogeographic Provinces. A total of 198 lots, coming from the Uruguayan, Argentinean, and southern Chilean coasts, including the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands and South Georgia, were studied. Available types were examined. Characters on the shell morphology, the reproductive system and the radula were supplemented with molecular data.Out of the ten nominal species described or reported for this area, only the presence of Siphonaria lessonii and S. lateralis is confirmed, and an additional (new) species is described. The distinctive characters for each of these species and their intraspecific variability are presented. The status of the other species mentioned for the region is discussed.