Taxonomy and cladistic analysis of Plakobranchidae (Gastropoda: Sacoglossa)

• Grant number: 14/06979-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2014
• End date: June 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Ricardo Lopes de Simone
• Grantee: Hilton de Castro Galvão Filho
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/22035-9 - Integrative phylogenetic analysis of Plakobranchidae (Gastropoda: Sacoglossa) and evolutionary history of molecular, morphological, ecological and reproductive characters, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The mollusks species in the order Sacoglossa represents a monophyletic group well supported by morphological and molecular studies. However, the clades inside it from family to species level are not in the same way. The family Plakobranchidae is known as the mayor problematic group within the order, with about a third of the species of the sacoglossans mollusks. This problem is mainly driven by the lack of detailed morphological descriptions of the species of the group, providing a broad spectrum of synonymization and invalidation of taxa. In this view, a representative sample of 29 species, comprising the entire 5 valid genre and their respective synonyms of the Plakobranchidae, will be included in the analysis. The material will be obtained primarily from institutional collections and then from the direct collection of material in different locations along the Brazilian coast. The characters will be gathered from morphological and anatomical study, using techniques of dissection, microscopy and histology, which will be represented by scientific illustrations and photos. Matrixes will be developed with description of characters for subsequent cladistic analysis, with the aid of specific software, that seeks the most parsimonious solution. In summary, this study represents a complete input with respect to the family PLakobranchidae and the use of cladistic analysis tools. (AU)