A New Species of the Intertidal Limpet Eoacmaea (Patellogastropoda: Eoacmaeidae) from Yonaguni Island, Japan and Taiwan.

Abstract

A new species of intertidal limpet was identified from Yonaguni Island, Japan and southern Taiwan in the present study and described as Eoacmaea nivea n. sp. It was previously reported by different authors as Cellana mauritiana, or as Acmaeid sp. in Taiwan, and as Patelloida sp. in Yonaguni Island, Japan. Based on detailed morphological observations and molecular analyses (COI), E. nivea n. sp. is distinguished from other Eoacmaea species. Eoacmaea nivea n. sp. is presently known from southern Taiwan, and a population on Yonaguni Island, Japan that is very limited. The present study reports a total 11 species of patellogastropod limpet species in Taiwan. The seven species-Cellana grata, Cellana toreuma, Nipponacmea nigrans, Nipponacmea fuscoviridis, Lottia dorsuosa, Lottia luchuana and Lottia tenuisculpta-were found in the intertidal on rocky shores along the north to northeastern shores of Taiwan. The five species-Cellana radiata, Lottia luchuana, Scutellastra flexuosa, Patelloida saccharina and E. nivea n. sp.-can be found mostly within depressions in limestone substrate in southeastern Taiwan. Of these, only Lottia luchuana is found throughout Taiwan, and overall has a tropical, not warm-temperate, distribution.