Redescription of Felimida elegantula (Philippi, 1844) and a preliminary phylogeny of the European species of Felimida (Chromodorididae)

Abstract

Felimida elegantula (Philippi, 1844) was originally described as Doris elegantula based on the external morphology of a single specimen from Sicily (Italy). Since Philippi's description, this species has been recorded only a few times, always from the Mediterranean Sea, and without any detailed description of the internal morphology. According to a recent reassessment of the family Chromodorididae, all the eastern Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean species previously attributed to the genus Chromodoris Alder & Hancock, 1855 should be reallocated to Felimida Marcus, 1971. Here we present a morphological redescription of F. elegantula based on five specimens from Sardinia (Italy) as well as a molecular phylogeny using two mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) and16S rRNA) and one nuclear (histone-3) marker. We aim to investigate phylogenetic relationships within 'Felimida' from the Atlantic coast of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.