Research Article Mediterranean Marine Science Indexed in WoS (Web of Science, ISI Thomson) and SCOPUS The journal is available on line at http://www.medit-mar-sc.net DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/mms.1333 Zoobank: http://zoobank.org/25FF6F44-EC43-4386-A149-621BA494DBB2 Reef building Mediterranean vermetid gastropods: disentangling the Dendropoma petraeum species complex J. TEMPLADO1, A. RICHTER2 and M. CALVO1 1 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain 2 Oviedo University, Faculty of Biology, Dep. Biology of Organisms and Systems (Zoology), Catedrático Rodrigo Uría s/n, 33071 Oviedo, Spain Corresponding author:
[email protected] Handling Editor: Marco Oliverio Received: 21 April 2014; Accepted: 3 July 2015; Published on line: 20 January 2016 Abstract A previous molecular study has revealed that the Mediterranean reef-building vermetid gastropod Dendropoma petraeum comprises a complex of at least four cryptic species with non-overlapping ranges. Once specific genetic differences were de- tected, ‘a posteriori’ searching for phenotypic characters has been undertaken to differentiate cryptic species and to formally describe and name them. The name D. petraeum (Monterosato, 1884) should be restricted to the species of this complex dis- tributed around the central Mediterranean (type locality in Sicily). In the present work this taxon is redescribed under the oldest valid name D. cristatum (Biondi, 1857), and a new species belonging to this complex is described, distributed in the western Mediterranean. These descriptions are based on a comparative study focusing on the protoconch, teleoconch, and external and internal anatomy. Morphologically, the two species can be only distinguished on the basis of non-easily visible anatomical features, and by differences in protoconch size and sculpture.