A First Approach to the Marine Heterobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) Fauna of Marettimo, Egadi Islands, MPA (Western Sicily, Mediterranean Sea)

For almost all the Sicilian islands, there are no faunistic data concerning marine Heterobranchia, which is one of the most sought-after groups of marine critters by photographers and diving enthusiasts all over the world. With the present study, carried out through underwater photography at various dive sites and stretches of coastline in the island of Marettimo, we made the first contribution to the knowledge of the marine Heterobranchia fauna present on this island of the Egadi archipelago. Through data collection, it was possible to document the presence of 43 species of marine Heterobranchia. Data analysis showed a remarkable homogeneity in the number of species between the examined sites. This is probably due to the peculiar environmental homogeneity present in the sites of this island, which are almost all rich in the presence of both benthic suspension feeders (the favorite prey of many groups of marine Heterobranchia) and environments full of crevices, grottos, and vertical walls, which are the preferred habitats of the majority of these mollusks. The higher number of marine heterobranch species found in Marettimo compared to the smaller number of species found on the other recently examined Sicilian islands (Pantelleria, Lipari, and Vulcano) is probably due to the massive presence of rich coralligenous biocoenoses and the particular hydrodynamic regime to which Marettimo is subject.