A. A. Martynova, V. G. Kuznetsov, A. V. Chernyshev - The First Barcoding Analysis of Symbiotic Nemerteans of the Genus Malacobdella (Hoplonemertea, Monostilifera) from the Far Eastern Seas of Russia

BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2025, Vol. 51, No. 6, pp. 344-350

The First Barcoding Analysis of Symbiotic Nemerteans of the Genus Malacobdella (Hoplonemertea, Monostilifera) from the Far Eastern Seas of Russia

¹Institute of the World Ocean, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, 690022 Russia;
²Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690041 Russia

E-mail:

The occurrence of Malacobdella grossa in Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan, has been confirmed by an analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene fragments. The sequences of four specimens from the Sea of Japan belong to the same haplotype and differ from the sequences of the specimens from the White and North Seas by 3-5 substitutions. This is the first hoplonemertean species whose trans-Arctic distribution range has been confirmed at the genetic level. The studied Malacobdella japonica specimens from Aniva Bay (Sakhalin Island) belong to the same haplotype as the specimens from Akkeshi Bay and Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

Key words: COI, symbionts, Mya, Spisula, larva.