Three new species of Nautilus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mollusca, Cephalopoda) from the Coral Sea and South Pacific

By

Barord, Gregory
Combosch, David
Giribet, Gonzalo
Landman, Neil H.
Lemer, Sarah
Veloso, Job
Ward, Peter

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1143

Pages

51--69

Subjects

Conservation , deep-sea , Nautilidae , Nautilus , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1143.84427

 

Abstract

Nautiloids are a charismatic group of marine molluscs best known for their rich fossil record, but today they are restricted to a handful of species in the family Nautilidae from around the Coral Triangle. Recent genetic work has shown a disconnect between traditional species, originally defined on shell characters, but now with new findings from genetic structure of various Nautilus populations. Here, three new species of Nautilus from the Coral Sea and South Pacific region are formally named using observations of shell and soft anatomical data augmented by genetic information: N. samoaensissp. nov. (from American Samoa), N. vitiensissp. nov. (from Fiji), and N. vanuatuensissp. nov. (from Vanuatu). The formal naming of these three species is timely considering the new and recently published information on genetic structure, geographic occurrence, and new morphological characters, including color patterns of shell and soft part morphology of hood, and will aid in managing these possibly endangered animals. As recently proposed from genetic analyses, there is a strong geographic component affecting taxonomy, with the new species coming from larger island groups that are separated by at least 200 km of deep water (greater than 800 m) from other Nautilus populations and potential habitats. Nautilid shells implode at depths greater than 800 m and depth therefore acts as a biogeographical barrier separating these species. This isolation, coupled with the unique, endemic species in each locale, are important considerations for the conservation management of the extant Nautilus species and populations.