title: The opisthobranch gastropods (Mollusca: Heterobranchia) from Venezuela: an annotated and illustrated inventory of species.
abstract: The Caribbean waters of Venezuela are composed by a large variety of habitats, with over 2800 km of coastline, islands, and islets. This area is a transitional zone between two main biogeographic provinces, the Caribbean and the Brazilian, separated by the fresh water outflows of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers, and is therefore expected to be an area of high species diversity. However, concerning the study of molluscs, Venezuela is probably the poorest known region in the Caribbean. The best compilation of opisthobranch species known in Venezuela was produced almost a decade ago, mentioning the occurrence of 57 species, plus seven determined only to genus level. In this work, 134 species are reported for Venezuela (71 are illustrated), representing about 40 % of the entire diversity of opisthobranchs known in the Caribbean. Among the species occurring in Venezuela, 49 have here the southern limit of their distribution range and only one the northern limit. Forty-six species are recorded for the first time to the country and one is a new record for the Caribbean Sea, namely Placida cremoniana. In addition, the distribution and ecology of the species are given based in literature and new data.
authors.affiliation: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris. Department of Oceanology and Coastal Sciences, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, Carretera Panamericana km 11, Miranda, Venezuela.; Email: mcaballergutierrez@mnhn.fr.
authors.forename: Manuel Caballer
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Department BOS, Faculty of Biology, University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.; Email: jortea@uniovi.es.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortea
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Headship, Academic Vice-Chancellorship, Caribbean Maritime Experimental National University, Ave. El Ejercito, Catia La Mar, Vargas, Venezuela.; Email: nelsyrivero@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nelsy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rivero
authors.affiliation: Clinical laboratory, Policlínica Metropolitana Urbanización Caurimare, Calle A-1, Caracas, Venezuela.; Email: gabycariast@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gabriela Carias
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: Phylogenetics Systematics and Evolution Research Group, Section of Taxonomy and Evolution, Department of Natural History, University Museum Bergen, University of Bergen, PB 7800, 5020-Bergen, Norway.; Email: Manuel.Malaquias@uib.no.
authors.forename: Manuel António E
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Malaquias
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Atención Comunitaria (CIAC) de la Fundación para la Defensa de la Naturaleza (FUDENA), Calle Carabobo s/n, Chichiriviche, Falcon, Venezuela.; Email: samuelnarciso@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Narciso
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D017753:Ecosystem; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D009929:Organ Size; D014687:Venezuela