Confirmación molecular de tres especies de bivalvos xilótrofos (Familia Teredinidae) en las bahías de Cartagena y Barbacoas, mar Caribe, Colombia

Despite the existence of extensive mangrove habitat, only few studies have described the diversity of wood-boring teredinid bivalves in Colombia. The present study was undertaken to explore whether teredinid bivalves are present in the Bay of Cartagena and adjacent Bay of Barbacoas. In a field study conducted in March 2013, ten individuals belonging to two teredinid genera, corresponding morphologically to Neoteredo reynei and Bankia spp. were encountered in two locations on submerged red mangrove roots (Rhizophora mangle). Initial morphological identifications were complemented with molecular identification. For this purpose, two gene fragments were sequenced, namely, 588 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and 305 bp of the small ribosomal subunit (18S) nuclear gene. Basic alignment searches and phylogenetic trees using publically available and unpublished CO1 and 18S sequences of other Teredinidae species confirm the identity of Neoteredo reynei in Barbacoas Bay. In contrast, sequences obtained for Bankia, indicate the presence of two distinct species in Cartagena Bay. The confirmation of, at least, three teredinid species in Cartagena Bay and Barbacoas Bay suggests the presence of additional species and warrants intensifying sampling effort on this ecologically and economically important group of wood decomposers.