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Authors
Bacharo, Kurt Bryant B. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6190-608X
Brugler, Mercer R.
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Funding
Funding for this research was provided by:
Science Education Institute, Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines
Society of Systematic Biologists
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Article History
Received: 20 January 2026
Revised: 9 May 2026
Accepted: 11 May 2026
First Online: 28 May 2026
Declarations
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: The authors declare no competing interests.
: A research permit to conduct this study was obtained from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office of the Local Government Unit of Lapu-Lapu City. Gratuitous Permit No. 0223-22 was issued by the Philippine’s Bureau of Aquatic Resources – Department of Agriculture for sample collection.
: Molecular sequence data produced in this study are freely available in NCBI’s GenBank. Additional data are provided in the main text and supplementary file.
: KBBB conceived the study, secured funding, conducted dive surveys, performed laboratory work, analyzed data, and drafted the manuscript. MRB provided oversight on the methodological design and data interpretation. Both authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
