New records of nudibranchs and a cephalaspid from Kuwait, northwestern Arabian Gulf (Mollusca, Heterobranchia)

Abstract

In this study five new records and two probably undescribed species of heterobranch sea slugs placed in four genera, three families, and two orders are reported from Kuwait, northwestern Arabian / Persian Gulf with details and photographs. The present study increases the heterobranch diversity in Kuwaiti waters from 35 to 40 species. The range of habitats in Kuwait provides a vital opportunity for further investigation to understand the actual faunal diversity.

New record of Hypselodoris infucata (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Chromodorididae) in the Republic of Mauritius

“…We add a novel record of a marine heterobranch sea slug, which increases the knowledge of the marine malacofauna biodiversity of Mauritius. Hypselodoris infucata is widely distributed in the Indo-West, Central Pacific and the Mediterranean Sea (Çevik and Öztürk 2001;Gosliner et al 2018;Nithyanandan et al 2021). While it has been previously been reported from Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, and Madagascar, it has not (Gosliner et al 2008).…”

“…Malaysia Johnson 1999), Thailand (Mehrotra et al 2021), India (Apte 2009), Pakistan (Gul 2019), Larak and Lavan islands, Iran (Rezai et al 2016), Kuwait (Nithyanandan et al 2021), Oman (Debelius 1996), Egypt (Johnson and Valdés 2001), Red Sea, East Africa (Barash and Danin 1992;Gosliner et al 2008), Tanzania (Edmunds 1971), Mozambique (Tibiriçá et al 2017), South Africa (Debelius 1996), Madagascar (Gosliner et al 2008), and Mauritius (this study) Remarks. We found a group of four individuals of H. infucata crawling on sand during a daylight survey near a shipwreck at Bain des Dames (Fig.…”