Confirmation of the identification and establishment of the South American slipper limpet Crepipatella dilatata (Lamark 1822) (Caenogastropoda: Calyptraeidae) in Northern Spain

Calyptraeid gastropods have been introduced frequently in bays and ports around the world, and have become rampantly invasive in several cases. Here we confirm the identification and establishment of a recently-detected population of Crepipatella in northern Spain. Because their shells do not have many diagnostic features, introductions of calyptraeids are often accompanied by confusion about the identity and therefore origin of the species in question. We use DNA sequence data and developmental observations to verify the species identity of this population as the South American species Crepipatella dilatata. The apparently rapid spread of this species, which lacks a larval stage, may be due to human action.