Complete Mitochondrial Genome and Phylogenetic Relationships of the Red Sea Chiton Acanthopleura vaillantii Rochebrune, 1882 (Polyplacophora: Chitonida)

Chitons are one of the least studied marine invertebrates from the Indian Ocean. Acanthopleura vaillantii is a rocky intertidal chiton species restricted to the north-western Indian Ocean, specifically along the coasts of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Gulf of Oman. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of A. vaillantii for the first time. The length of the genome was found to be 15,271 bp, containing 13 PCGs, two rRNA, and 22 tRNA. Phylogenetic analysis of A. vaillantii using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, based on all 13 PCGs supports the recent classification of chitons and places A. vaillantii within the clade representing subfamily Acanthopleurinae. This study presents the first complete mitochondrial genome of a chiton species from the Indian Ocean.