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Introduction
The isolated Azores Archipelago is located in the northeast
Atlantic Ocean (Fig. 1). Among the best studied Azorean
marine habitats, we might include the intertidal zone and
the algal turf that commonly covers rocky shore settings.
These environments and their associated marine flora and
fauna have been studied in both exposed and sheltered sites
on several islands of the Azores (e.g. Azevedo, 1992;
Bullock, 1995; Ávila, 1998; Martins et al., 2008 & 2016,
among others).
Reçu le 19 décembre 2017 ; accepté après révision le 16 mars 2018.
Received 19 December 2017; accepted in revised form 16 March 2018.
Cah. Biol. Mar. (2018) 59 : 623-627
First record of Eatonina fulgida (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the
Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic Ocean)
Eva CACABELOS1,2,3, Ricardo CORDEIRO1,4, Rocío SÁNCHEZ1, Laura BUSQUIER1, Rubén MOSQUERA1,
Ana I. NETO1,2 and Sérgio P. ÁVILA1,4*
(1) Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada,
Açores, Portugal
(2) cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group,
9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal
(3) MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Quinta do Lorde Marina, Sítio da Piedade, Madeira Island,
9200-044 Canical, Portugal
(4) CIBIO-Açores, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado,
Pólo dos Açores, Azores, Portugal
*Corresponding author: avila@uac.pt
Abstract: A benthic survey in the Azores Archipelago revealed the presence of the microgastropod Eatonina fulgida, herein
reported for the first time. This finding expands the known geographical distribution of this species in the northeast Atlantic
Ocean. The Azorean specimens are described and additional observations on the shell features of the species are provided.
With this new record, the number of shallow-water (< 50 m depth) marine molluscs reported for the Azores increases to a
total of 385 species, 280 of which are gastropods.
Résumé : Premier signalement d’Eatonina fulgida (Mollusca : Gastropoda) dans l’archipel des Açores (NE de l’Océan
Atlantique). Une étude benthique dans l’archipel des Açores a révélé la présence du microgastéropode Eatonina fulgida,
signalé ici pour la première fois. Cette découverte élargit la répartition géographique connue de cette espèce dans le nord-
est de l’océan Atlantique. Les spécimens açoriens sont décrits et des observations supplémentaires sur les caractéristiques
de la coquille de l’espèce sont fournies. Avec ce nouveau signalement, le nombre de mollusques marins en eau peu profonde
(< 50 m de profondeur) signalés aux Açores atteint 385 espèces, dont 280 sont des gastéropodes.
Keywords: New record lGastropod lMolluscs lEatonina fulgida lCingulopsidae lAzores
DOI: 10.21411/CBM.A.C425356B
SHORT NOTE
624 EATONINA FULGIDA IN THE AZORES
The littoral marine malacofauna of the Azores (< 50 m
depth) has been intensively studied over the past 30 years,
with several papers describing new species (most of them
endemic to the archipelago, e.g., Gofas, 1989 & 1990;
Ávila et al., 2011; Cordeiro & Ávila, 2015) or reporting
new records (Ávila, 2000; Malaquias et al., 2009; Martins
et al., 2009; Pedro et al., 2011; Ávila & Sigwart, 2013;
Cordeiro et al., 2015, among others).
Eatonina Thiele, 1857 is a genus of small marine
gastropods that comprises about 40 species (Bouchet &
Gofas, 2017). Although the genus is distributed worldwide,
there are no published records of Eatonina species in the
Azores up to date. Eatonina species are usually found at
mid and low intertidal levels, and are common in various
habitats, such as gravel bottoms, on pebbles or in algal
turfs, with variations of abundance among patches of
habitats at very low spatial scales (e.g. Olabarria &
Chapman, 2001a), being particularly abundant in coralline
turfs (Olabarria & Chapman, 2001b).
Materials and Methods
Six intertidal sites located around the island of São Miguel
(Azores) were sampled during September-October 2013
(Fig. 1), and the benthic communities inhabiting the
coralline algal turfs were studied. These turfs are mostly
(~95%) composed by articulated coralline algae
(Ellisolandia elongata (J. Ellis & Solander) K.R.Hind &
G.W.Saunders, 2013, Haliptilon spp. and Jania spp.),
covering the low intertidal level and sublittoral in all
sampled sites.
At each site, the assemblage of prosobranch gastropods
living within the algal matrix was sampled by randomly
scraping 10 replicate quadrats (10 × 10 cm) within the
coralline turf zone. Samples were brought to the lab and
frozen until inspection. In the lab, samples were sieved
(0.125 mm), and the animals retained on the mesh were
sorted under a dissection Leica ZOOM 2000
stereomicroscope and preserved in 70% ethanol until
identification. Under this stereomicroscope, specimens
were examined, measured and identified and finally,
photographed using a Nikon D810 camera mounted on a
Nikon SMZ1000 stereomicroscope. Residual articulated
coralline algae were oven-dried at 60°C until constant
weight. The density of animals was expressed as number of
individuals.100 cm-2 and number of individuals.g-1 of algal
dry weight (ADW).
Results
The shallow-water marine microgastropod Eatonina
fulgida (J. Adams, 1797) was identified for the first time for
the Azores Archipelago. Several specimens of E. fulgida
were found in 4 out of the 6 sites studied in the shores of
São Miguel Island (Fig. 1), reaching a maximum density of
49.2 ± 0.2 ind.100 cm-2 and 1.8 ± 5.5 ind.g-1 ADW at
Pópulo (cf. Table 1). No specimens were collected at Vila
Franca do Campo or at Rabo de Peixe.
Figure 1. Location of the sampling sites along the coastline of São Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago. The black stars indicate where
Eatonina fulgida was found. A. Mosteiros. B. Ponta Delgada. C. Pópulo. D. Cruzeiro. E. Vila Franca do Campo. F. Rabo de Peixe.
E. CACABELOS, R. CORDEIRO, R. SÁNCHEZ, L. BUSQUIER, R. MOSQUERA, A.I. NETO, S.P. ÁVILA 625
All specimens were deposited in the reference collection
of the Department of Biology of the University of the
Azores (DBUA 990).
Systematics
Family CINGULOPSIDAE Fretter & Patil, 1958
Genus Eatonina Thiele, 1912
Eatonina fulgida (J. Adams, 1797)
(Fig. 2A-C)
Material examined
Ten specimens collected at Pópulo, São Miguel Island (16-
09-2013), from the intertidal coralline algal turf (DBUA
990). Over 30 individuals were also collected at Cruzeiro,
Mosteiros and Ponta Delgada (cf. Fig. 1 and Table 1).
Description
Shell small, up to 1.2 mm in height, globular in shape, thin,
semi-transparent and bright. Protoconch smooth with about
1.5 whorls, rounded, blunt apex. Transition almost
imperceptible between protoconch and teleoconch.
Teleoconch with 3 to 4 whorls, plenty of very fine
prosocline growth lines. Body whorl rounded, with a
narrow umbilicus. Aperture of the shell rounded, with a
simple peristome. Shell light brown in colour, with a
central, large darker brown band, and a thinner subsutural
darker brown band, both located on the last whorl.
Geographical distribution
British Isles to the south, along the Atlantic coasts of
Europe, Mediterranean Sea, Morocco, Canary Islands
(Rubio & Rodríguez Babío, 1995; Gofas et al., 2011;
Rolán, 2011), and now the Azores.
Discussion
With this new record for the Azores, the known
geographical distribution of Eatonina fulgida is expanded
in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The habitat (intertidal) and
the shell characters of the studied specimens’ conform to
the descriptions available in the literature (e.g. Fretter &
Patil, 1958; Fretter & Graham, 1978; Rubio & Rodríguez
Babío, 1995).
E. fulgida density
Location Nb. Ind. Ind.100 cm-2Ind.g-1ADW
Vila Franca 0 0.0 ± 0.0 0.0 ± 0.0
Cruzeiro 16 5.5 ± 0.0 0.2 ± 1.3
Mosteiros 33 12.2 ± 0.1 0.4 ± 3.7
Ponta Delgada 18 3.8 ± 0.0 0.2 ± 0.4
Pópulo 141 49.2 ± 0.2 1.8 ± 5.5
Rabo de Peixe 0 0.0 ± 0.0 0.0 ± 0.0
Table 1. Eatonina fulgida. Total number of individuals (Nb. Ind.)
and densities for each sampling site in São Miguel Island, Azores
Archipelago. Densities are expressed as ind.100 cm-2and ind.g-1
ADW; Mean ± SE, n = 10 (except Cruzeiro site, where n = 8).
Figure 2. Eatonina fulgida. Specimen collected at Pópulo, São Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago. Aand B. lateral view of shell
(scale = 500 µm). C. Apical view of the shell. The arrow indicates the transition from the protoconch to the teleoconch (scale = 200 µm).
The total number of shallow-water marine molluscs
reported for the Azores between 2000 and 2017 has risen
from 231 (Ávila, 2000) to 385 species (280 gastropods, 90
bivalves, 8 cephalopods and 7 chitons). More importantly,
41 (10.6%) are endemic species, in contrast with the 19
(8.2%) recorded in 2000. Also, the number of gastropod
families has increased to 95, since the last account by
Cordeiro et al. (2015).
Notwithstanding more than a century of marine
scientific research in the Azores, these islands still harbour
new records (Malaquias et al., 2009; Martins et al., 2009;
Pedro et al., 2011; Cordeiro et al., 2015) and new species of
molluscs (e.g., Ávila et al., 2011; Cordeiro & Ávila, 2015;
Paz-Sedano et al., 2017) waiting to be discovered and
described, respectively. Therefore, we suggest that
scientific marine surveys should keep being performed on
the Azorean waters on a regular basis.
Acknowledgements
S.P. Ávila acknowledges his IF/00465/2015 research
contract funded by the Portuguese Science Foundation
(FCT). R. Cordeiro benefited from PhD grant
SFRH/BD/60366/2009, funded by FCT. E Cacabelos
benefitted from a post-doctoral fellowship awarded by
ARDITI Grant Programme Madeira 14-20 (M1420-09-
5369-FSE-000001). CIBIO-Açores is funded by DRCT
M1.1.a/005/Funcionamento/2016. This work was also
funded by FEDER funds through the Operational
Programme for Competitiveness Factors – COMPETE, and
by National Funds through FCT under the
UID/BIA/50027/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821 and
UID/BIA/00329/2013. We thank the editor (Pr. Dominique
Davoult) and two anonymous reviewers for their comments,
which helped to significantly improve the paper.
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