Morphological and molecular analysis of the species Bellactis ilkalyseae (Cnidaria: Actiniaria) from brazilian coast, with species (re)description

• Grant number: 24/20492-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Sónia Cristina da Silva Andrade
• Grantee: Carolina Ignacio de Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06738-8 - Seascape genetics and comparative genomics: an integrative evolutionary approach in marine invertebrates, AP.BTA.JP2

Abstract

Sea anemones of the Order Actiniaria are polypoid marine invertebrates that have developed numerous evolutionary innovations crucial for maintaining diversity and adapting to various habitats. Nevertheless, studies on individuals of this order are more common with species from temperate regions. As a result, evolutionary, ecological, developmental, and even taxonomic aspects are sparse for species from tropical regions. For instance, various taxonomic inconsistencies within Actiniaria persist to this day, complicating species classification and identification and, consequently, the understanding of biodiversity within this order. Bellactis ilkalyseae (Dube, 1983), a species of Actiniaria, exemplifies taxonomic challenges, with an incomplete description and a putative disjunct distribution. This study aims to address these issues through morphological, morphometric, and molecular analyses of B. ilkalyseae specimens from the Brazilian coast. Histological analyses will be conducted to characterize the arrangement of mesenteries. A morphometric study of the cnidome will be performed on individuals from each collection locality, and capsule measurements will be compared using statistical methods. Molecular analyses using mitochondrial markers (16SrRNA, cox3) and a nuclear marker (28SrRNA) will be conducted to examine genetic diversity, phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships, and subsequently infer the position of this species within the family Aiptasiidae. The results are expected to clarify whether there are morphological and cnidome variations among sampled individuals, confirm if Bellactis ilkalyseae is a monophyletic group within Actiniaria, and offer new perspectives contributing to a more precise taxonomic placement of this species within the family Aiptasiidae.