Abstract

The Korean Acusta specimens were collected from six sites: Seo-gu, Incheon; Yeongyang, Gyeongsangbuk-do; Hongdo Island, Jeollanam-do; Jodo Island, Jeollanam-do; Chuncheon, Gangwon-do; and Seogwipo, Jeju-do. It was observed that the morphological characteristics follow the typical genus Acusta. In order to confirm their phylogenetic position, DNA analyses were conducted targeting three regions, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1), 16S ribosomal RNA (16S), and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2). As a result, the Korean population of Acusta specimens were confirmed to be of the same species. In the phylogenetic trees, it was grouped in the same clade as Acusta redfieldi (Reeve, 1852) and showed the lowest variation of Acusta group. It was also the second most closely related to A. siebolditina (L. Pfeiffer, 1850). Therefore, the Korean Acusta is regarded as A. redfieldi and showed closer genetic similarity to the Chinese population than to the Japanese population. In addition, in this study, the nucleotide sequences of the Korean group Acusta are recorded in a public database for the first time, and then a photograph of the individual and a brief morphological description are provided.