Characterization of Aulactinia (Actiniaria: Actiniidae) species from Mar del Plata (Argentina) using morphological and molecular data

Abstract

This study performs marphological and molecular characterization of the species belonging to the genus Aulactinia from Mar del Plata (Argentina), previously identified as A. marplatensis and A. reynaudi. The great similarity in the natural history of these species, and our results on external and internal anatomy, clearly suggests that the sea anemones of the genus Aulactinia inhabiting the studied areas must be considered a single species, A. marplatensis. The molecular data provided further support this assertion: all the individuals of A. marplatensis and A. reynaudi appear together intermixed in a monophyletic group clearly distinct from the outgroup species A. incubans and A. verrucosa. We have also completed the description of A. marplatensis, adding more anatomical features based mainly on internal anatomy and cnidae