Litarachna bruneiensis Pesic, Chatterjee, Marshall & Pavicevic 2011
Litarachna bruneiensis Pešić, Chatterjee, Marshall & Pavićević, 2011 Litarachna almiri Pešić, Smit & Zawal, 2026 nov. syn. Material examined— Brunei Darussalam, Pulau Selirong, artificial breakwater on sandy beach, 4.904453º N, 115.128817º E, collected from algae on mangrove roots, 5 December 2025, leg. Zawal, 1♀, sequenced (Voucher Id: K134_1; BOLD Id: HYDPT239-26). Remarks —The sequenced specimen from this study matches the description of L.bruneiensis,a species originally described on the basis of the specimens collected from a dense algal mat of Avicennia marina pneumatophores from the Sungai Brunei estuarine system, Brunei (Pešić et al. 2011). Molecular results revealed that the analysed female specimen of L. bruneiensis from Brunei clusters with Litarachna almiri, a species recently described by Pešić et al. (2026c) from Thailand and Mauritius, indicating that these two species are conspecific. In the original description of L. almiri, Pešić et al. (2026c) compared the latter species only with L. triangularis Smit, 2009 (known from Singapore); both species have an anterior pair of wheel-like acetabula located close to each other and distant from the medial apodeme of Cx-IV. Litarachna bruneiensis resembles L. almiri in having a relatively small ventral extension on P-2, a ventrodistal angle of P-3 ending in a small denticle, and genital sclerites forming a complete ring around the gonopore. Although the female illustrated in the original description of L. bruneiensis has the anterior pair of wheel-like acetabula situated close to the medial apodeme of Cx-IV (see Pešić et al. 2011, fig. 4B), this is likely an artifact of its juvenile status; this is supported by its smaller body dimensions relative to the male and a coxal field that occupies most of the venter. Based on both molecular and morphological evidence, L. almiri is proposed as a junior synonym of L. bruneiensis. Distribution — Brunei (Pešić et al. 2011, 2013), Thailand, Mauritius.
Authors
- Andrzej Zawal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5838-6060)
- Aleksandra Bańkowska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1037-0550)
- VLADIMIR M. PESIC (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9724-345X)
- David J. Marshall
- FAREEHA IFTEKHAR (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9511-4447)
Institutions
- University of Szczecin (PL)
- Universiti Brunei Darussalam (BN)
- University of Montenegro (ME)
- University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (PK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Published
- 2026-11-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23930211
- Primary Topic
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00