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A Possible New Record of a Species of Elysia (Mollusca, Heterobranchia) for India? A Brief Discussion on Gaps in Taxonomy

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Abstract

A species of Elysia cf. marginata was observed on Kurusadai Island, Gulf of Mannar. After an extensive literature review, it turns out that it is a possible new record for India, but only by default. Why by default? Elysia spp. have been plagued with species complexes which have been discussed time and again as delineated in our literature discussion. But whether the material was out of reach or lost in translation remains a mystery. This leads us to our current conundrum—the misdiagnosis of a species over time; a great void in scientific research and publication, which is causing scientists to go around in circles (possibly for decades). These stress the importance of database updation, accessibility and trained taxonomists in research.

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Acknowledgements

My sincerest thanks to the Honourable Director of the Zoological Survey of India, Dr Rajkumar Rajan, Officer-in-charge, MBRC and Dr S. Prabakaran, Scientist—E for encouraging my scientific curiosity. I would like to thank Dr Ch. Satyanarayanan who is my mentor and guide. A big thank you to Rahul Mehrotra, PhD for always being there and helping me and to Vie Panyarachun for your constant support. A note of gratitude to Mr Surendar Chandrasekar for capturing the images.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Florence Suganya R, Pranjal Sharma & S. Prabakaran

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  1. Florence Suganya R
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  2. Pranjal Sharma
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  3. S. Prabakaran
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Ms Florence Suganya Ravindran wrote the manuscript. Mr Pranjal Sharma suggested research articles for reference. Dr S Prabakaran proofread the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Florence Suganya R.

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R, F.S., Sharma, P. & Prabakaran, S. A Possible New Record of a Species of Elysia (Mollusca, Heterobranchia) for India? A Brief Discussion on Gaps in Taxonomy. Thalassas 40, 393–397 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-023-00623-9

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