top of page
Nudibranch Phylogenetics
I spent an undergrad summer at the California Academy of Sciences Summer Systematics Institute (SSI) REU program. There, I studied a collection of Indo-Pacific nudibranchs, or sea slugs, collected over the course of several decades by Dr. Terrence Gosliner, a world renowned taxonomist and curator of marine invertebrates.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Gosliner and the SSI program coordinators, I dove into a world of marine research, morphometrics, phylogenetics, and cryptic species identification!
Methods
Summary of Key Findings
More Photos From the REU Internship!
Primary Goal: Increase support for collection as a new genus
Gosliner T, and Ahmad Ali S. A new flabellinid nudibranch reveals a new phylogenetic lineage with unique morphology. Winning Poster presentation at: Michigan State University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum; 2026 April 17th; East Lansing, MI. Publushed in UURAFÂ 2026 Program Book.
Gosliner T, and Ahmad Ali S. A new flabellinid nudibranch reveals a new phylogenetic lineage with unique morphology. Poster presentation at: 2025 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference; 2025 October 31-November 2; Columbus, OH.
Thirteen nudibranch specimens (only about 3-6 mm in length!) housed at the California Academy of Sciences, were collected between 1986 and 2017 from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and the Marshall Islands. One of which was initially identified as a member of the genus Piseinotecus, but initial gene sequencing and morpholocial comparisons supported the specimen as something comletely separate. My job was to work with the most recent samples.
Morphological Analysis
The reproductive system was dissected, digitized, and compared visually to that of a species from the genus Piseinotecus.
The radula (teeth) was dissected and dissolved in Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), in which photos were taken under a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for comparison to other species.
Genetic Analysis
COI, 16S, and H3 genes were sequenced to build a phylogenetic tree using Geneious Prime, IQ-TREE, and FigTree software.
Morphological Variation Among Samples
Radulas of all samples are uniseriate (appear in a single row), which is uncommon and seen as a more derived trait. Oddly, samples from the Marshall Islands (A) contain denticles (offshoots from the main teeth) that come to a single point while samples from the philippines (B) have denticles that come to a forked point.
Phylogenetic Analysis
Maximum likelihood tree of 2 samples using sequenced 16S and H3 gene regions. All three cluster in support of a new species in the flabellinid family. This matches the findings of the newly described genus, Hantazuia, by Korshunova et al. 2025.
Sea Lion Dissections!
Catching Amphibians and Reptiles!
Tidepooling!
Conference Presentations!
Hiking California Coasts!
bottom of page