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The contribution of Heterobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) to the biodiversity of the Colombian Tropical Eastern Pacific

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Abstract

Mollusks are a very important component of the invertebrate faunal biodiversity in marine ecosystems. However, knowledge on this (and other groups) is still incomplete. Inventories of fauna are very important tools to learn the biodiversity associated with specific regions and of specific zoological groups. In this paper, I report 103 species of heterobranch mollusks occurring along the Pacific coast of Colombia, including previous peer-reviewed records and new information. Of these, 23 are new records for the Pacific coast of Colombia, and a total of 32 species are registered for the first time in at least one locality along this shore. The most species diverse family is Chromodorididae, followed by Ellobiidae. The most diverse locality is Gorgona Island, closely followed by Malpelo Island. There is still much to learn from this rather isolated region, the northern Pacific coast of the South American continent.

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Acknowledgements

I am deeply indebted to my friend and colleague Jaime Cantera for his continuing support and encouragement towards the study of nudibranchs and the long talks regarding invertebrate biodiversity in general. He also read and improved this manuscript. I am especially grateful to my biology students at Universidad del Valle that knowing my passion for heterobranch sea slugs continuously pointed me towards these creatures whenever they spotted one. I am also indebted to my university that financially supported all the courses’ field trips. Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my colleagues Maria Fernanda Cardona-Gutierrez, Luz Angela López de Mesa, and especially to Hans Bertsch that critically read, corrected, and enhanced this manuscript. Last but not least, three anonymous reviewers critically assessed the first version of the manuscript, and their contributions were reflected in a big improvement of this paper. This is contribution number 22 from INCIMAR.

Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study in particular; however, Universidad del Valle (Cali, Colombia) financially supported all the courses’ field trips in which most of the records were obtained. Other observations were made during various research projects financed by COLCIENCIAS and Universidad del Valle, grant numbers 1106–405-20155, “Biodiversidad de Estadios de Vida Vulnerable de Organismos Marinos en Bahía Málaga (Pacífico Colombiano) como criterio de conservación: Evaluación de la heterogeneidad de ambientes en la reproducción y reclutamiento,” and 1106–659-44216, “Relación entre las tasas de bioerosión y bioacreción de arrecifes coralinos de la Isla Gorgona, Pacifico colombiano”, and “Evaluación del estado actual de los objetos de conservación faunísticos en Isla Gorgona: una aproximación holística a la valoración ecológica del PNN Gorgona.”

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  1. Ecosistemas Rocosos Intermareales y Submareales Someros (LITHOS), Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, Valle del Cauca, Cali, Colombia

    Edgardo Londoño-Cruz

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  1. Edgardo Londoño-Cruz
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Correspondence to Edgardo Londoño-Cruz.

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All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies were obtained by the author from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements, if applicable. The study is compliant with CBD and Nagoya protocols.

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Identification of samples, treatment of results, preparation, and writing of the whole paper were performed by the author.

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Communicated by C. Chen

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Londoño-Cruz, E. The contribution of Heterobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) to the biodiversity of the Colombian Tropical Eastern Pacific. Mar. Biodivers. 51, 93 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-021-01230-8

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