Diario del proyecto Sea Slugs of Portugal

Thanks to all who have contributed to this project for the past 5 years, either by adding observations or helping with the identifications!
Time to check the status of our project. Its aim is mostly to gather data on Portuguese sea slugs and to provide an answer to three main questions:

• Which species can we find in Portugal?
• Where and when are we most likely to find a certain species in Portugal?
• Which species are we most likely to find at a certain place and time of the year in Portugal?

Although the pandemic reduced the number of observations, here are a few highlights from last year:

New species added to Portugal's checklist
	Polycera hedgpethi Originally described from California, this species has been recorded in several other locations around the world but this was the first time it has been recorded in Portugal.
	Mationia gemmii This species was described in 2018 from Galicia, Spain, and it has since been recorded also from the Mediterranean so although it was expected to be present in Portugal this was the first time it was confirmed.
	Doris adrianae This species was described in 2021 from Galicia, Spain, and the publication triggered the review of previous records elsewhere as in this case.
	Limacia inesae A revision of Limacia clavigera resulted in the description of several new species. Apparently, L. clavigera is present in the NE Atlantic and is replaced by L. inesae in the Mediterranean but several records from Portugal have shown both species overlap at least as far North as Sesimbra.
New distribution ranges for Portuguese species
	Polycera aurantiomarginata Previously known only from the Southern coast of continental Portugal, a record from Setúbal has extended its range.
	Felimida binza Previously known only from the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, a record from Sesimbra has extended its range to continental Portugal.

Here's a summary of the project's collection so far:

• Observations: 3,015 (81% of which research grade)
• Species: 117
• Observers: 111
• Identifiers: 127