Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2018, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (3): 73-79.doi: 10.11978/2017082CSTR: 32234.14.2017082

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Comparative study on several confused species of Nerita (Gastropoda, Cycloneritimorpha, Neritidae)

Zhiyun CHEN1(), Xiping LIAN1, Yehui TAN1,2()   

  1. 1. Marine Biodiversity Collections of South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2017-07-24 Revised:2017-10-19 Online:2018-06-10 Published:2018-05-03
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (41406185);Special Funds for the Young Scholars of Taxonomy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ZSBR-010);Natural Science and Technology Basic Research Program of China (2013FY111200, 2015FY110600)

Abstract:

We deal with four confused species from the China seas. Nerita chamaeleon Linnaeus, 1758 and Nerita histrio Linnaeus, 1758 have similar shell characters and are often confused and misidentified as each other. The classification of Nerita polita Linnaeus, 1758 and Nerita litterata Gmelin, 1791 had been confused for quite a long time, and both were usually identified as Nerita polita. Our comparative study is conducted on the Nerita specimens deposited in the Marine Biodiversity Collections of South China Sea (SCSMBC, Guangzhou) and the Marine Biological Museum (MBM, Qingdao), Chinese Academy of Sciences. The taxonomic confusion of the four species is clarified on shell morphology, distribution and habitat; and species statuses of the two are confirmed.

Key words: Mollusca, Neritidae, taxonomy, confused species, Nerita chamaeleon, Nerita histrio, Nerita polita, Nerita litterata