A new genus and three new species of mangrove slugs from the Indo-West Pacific (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Euthyneura: Onchidiidae)

Abstract

Mangroves of the Indo-West Pacific have remained poorly explored, so even the diversity of the onchidiid slugs, which are some of the most abundant animals in mangroves of the Indo-West Pacific, is not well known. Thanks to several years spent exploring mangroves in the Indo-West Pacific (more than 260 stations), especially in South-East Asia, the diversity of mangrove gastropods can now be addressed through revisions following an integrative taxonomy approach (nomenclature, field observations, comparative anatomy and DNA sequences). A new genus of onchidiid slugs is described, Paromoionchis Dayrat & Goulding gen. nov., which includes five species, three of which are new: Paromoionchis boholensis Dayrat & Goulding gen. et sp. nov., P. daemelii (Semper, 1880) com. nov., P. goslineri Dayrat & Goulding gen. et sp. nov., P. penangensis Dayrat & Goulding gen. et sp. nov. and P. tumidus (Semper, 1880) comb. nov. Paromoionchis gen. nov. is distributed from western India to the subtropical waters of Japan (33° N) and southeastern Australia (33° S). The creation of new taxon names is supported by rigorous nomenclature: the types of all existing species names in the family were examined, the original descriptions carefully studied and nomenclatural issues addressed. The diversity and biogeography of this new genus is discussed in a broader context.

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