The First Record of Trinchesia lenkae Martynov, 2002 from Japan: Morphological and Molecular Comparison with the Material from the Type Locality in Russia (Nudibranchia: Trinchesiidae)

Abstract

The nudibranch mollusc Trinchesia lenkae Martynov, 2002 is reported in the Japanese fauna for the first time. The newly collected Japanese specimens of T. lenkae are compared with those from the type locality of this species in Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan, Russia, using external and internal morphological data and molecular analyses. The molecular study revealed high genetic homogeneity between Japanese and Russian populations of T. lenkae. The integrative morphological and molecular data thus clearly suggest that the same species occurs in Russia and Japan.