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Castilla J.C., A.G. Collins, C.P. Meyer, R. Guiñez, and D.R. Lindberg. 2002. Recent Introduction of the dominant tunicate, Pyura praeputialis (Urochordata, Pyuridae) to Antofagasta, Chile. Molecular Ecology 11:1579-1584.

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ABSTRACT: The large sessile tunicate Pyura stolonifera (Pleurogona: Stolibranchiata: Pyuridae), has been regarded as a complex taxon with disjointed distributions, including Australia (Pyura stolonifera praeputialis), South Africa (Pyura stolonifera stolonifera) and South America (Chile, Antofagasta: Pyura sp., the "piure de Antofagasta"), which it has been cited at least under five taxonomic combinations. The "piure de Antofagasta" is a competitively dominant species in rocky intertidal habitats and shows a limited geographical range (60-70 km) exclusively inside the Bay of Antofagasta. Using Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial sequence data from Pyura specimens of the three taxa we test if the Chilean taxon represents (a) a Gondwana relict, (b) a more recently divergent species, (c) a recently introduced species. The results suggest that the Chilean taxon is a recent introduction to Chile from Australian populations and that Pyura stolonifera praeputialis, from Australia, and the "piure de Antofagasta" are geographical populations of a single species: Pyura praeputialis; while the South African taxon represents a second species: Pyura stolonifera.

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