Integrated use of morphological and molecular analysis and distribution pattern in the taxonomic study of endemic eglid taxa from Brazil, suspected of constituting cryptic species

• Grant number: 22/11142-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Sérgio Luiz de Siqueira Bueno
• Grantee: Jéssica Colavite
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/13685-5 - Integrative analysis of the Brazilian fauna of decapod crustaceans: taxonomy, phylogenetic systematics, spermiotaxonomy, morphology of post-embryonic development, ecology and conservation, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

Recent morphological and genetic studies have shown the existence of many species belonging to Aegla Leach, 1820 that were formerly referred to as a single species with a wide distribution. Several other taxa of the group are suspected of constituting complexes of cryptic species. This is the case of Aegla jarai Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994; A. odebrechtii Müller, 1876; and A. parva Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994. These species present a broad and disjointed distribution pattern and can be subdivided into species with small populations and limited range, which would directly impact the policies of preservation and management of their areas of protection and occurrence, as well as the conservation status of the species. Aegla jarai, for example, is found in the Alto Uruguai and Litorânea ecoregions and has been shown to be paraphyletic in recent phylogeny of the group, with strong indications of representing a species complex. Aegla odebrechtii is also found in the Alto Uruguai and Litorânea ecoregions, and A. parva in the Iguaçú and Litorânea ecoregions, both with little molecular data available. In this scenario, morphological characterization, together with the use of molecular methods such as DNA barcoding, becomes fundamental for the proper taxonomic identification of aeglid populations attributed to these species.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

COLAVITE, JESSICA; BUENO, SERGIO L. S.; DA SILVA, ALEXANDRE R.; TAVARES, MARCOS. A NEW SPECIES OF AEGLA (DECAPODA, ANOMURA, AEGLIDAE) FROM THE PARANAPANEMA WATERSHED, SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL. CRUSTACEANA, v. 97, n. 5-9, p. 17-pg., 2024-08-01. (18/13685-5, 22/11142-0)