Lepetodrilus sp. East Scotia Ridge

Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I (COI) gene of this limpet (GenBank accession number JN628254) and a range of other Lepetodrilus species, using Bayesian inference, places this species from East Scotia Ridge as a sister taxon to Lepetodrilus atlanticus, with a sequence divergence from this species of 5.48%.^[1] This level of genetic divergence is consistent with that found between Lepetodrilus species within complexes of sister taxa, where interspecific distances of between 3% and 15% have been observed.^[1]

This species is ubiquitous in low-temperature diffuse flow, being found on bare rock, sulphides, Kiwa sp., gastropods Gigantopelta chessoia, and stalked barnacles.^[1] On the carapace of Kiwa n. sp., a "halo" of pale colouration surrounding the limpets indicates where this species of Lepetodrilus is grazing epizoic microbes.^[1]

The population density of Lepetodrilus sp. on the barnacles Vulcanolepas scotiaensis was estimated to 20,172–56,904 individuals m⁻².^[2][3]

This article incorporates CC-BY-2.5 text from the reference^[1]