Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Distribution range extension of Halimanemertes slacksmithae (Nemertea) in the Indian ocean

Volume 67 Issue 2

Ruchi P. Jain and R. P. Rajesh

doi:10.6024/jmbai.2025.67.2.2600-15

Abstract

This study reports the range extension of the marine nemertean, Halimanemertes slacksmithae, Gibson, 1990, to Indian waters, from its type locality at Island, Albany, Australia, in the Indian Ocean to the rocky intertidal shores of Muttom, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Species identification was based on external body colouration and patterns, in conjunction with multilocus DNA analysis. In addition, the ultrastructure of the stylet apparatus is described and illustrated. Morphological and ecological characteristics of this hoplonemertean species are provided. This represents the second record of H. slacksmithae, with DNA barcoding carried out using mitochondrial cox1 and nuclear H3 loci. The genetic sequences obtained have been submitted to the GenBank database.

Keywords

Nemertea, Halimanemertes, cytochrome oxidase subunit I, histone H3 gene

Date : 03-12-2025