Molecular data for Crenavolva species (Gastropoda, Ovulidae) reveals the synonymy of C. chiapponii

Abstract. During fieldwork in Indonesia and Malaysia, eight lots containing 33 specimens belonging to the genus Crenavolva (Ovulidae) were collected. Species were initially identified as Crenavolva aureola, Crenavolva chiapponii, Crenavolva striatula and Crenavolva trailli, respectively. For Crenavolva chiapponii this is the second record. In contrast to the ecological data available from the original description of this species, it was found in shallow water on a gorgonian host coral, i.e. Acanthogorgia sp. A molecular analysis based on COI and 16S mtDNA markers, including sequence data obtained from GenBank, showed that Crenavolva chiapponii should be considered a junior synonym of Crenavolva aureola and that previously identified ovulid specimens are probably misidentified.