Five new pseudocryptic land planarian species of Cratera (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida) unveiled through integrative taxonomy

Autor(es)

Goulart Araujo, Ana Paula ^{[1, 2]} ; Carbayo, Fernando ^{[2, 3]} ; Riutort, Marta ^{[4, 5]} ; Alvarez-Presas, Marta ^{[4, 5]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Museu Zool, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Lab Ecol & Evolucao, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Barcelona UB, Fac Biol, Dept Genet Microbiol & Estadist, Barcelona - Spain

^[5] Univ Barcelona UB, Inst Recerca Biodiversitat IRBio, Barcelona - Spain

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PeerJ; v. 8, SEP 4 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Background. Cratera is a genus of land planarians endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic forest. The species of this genus are distinguished from each other by a series of external and internal characters, nonetheless they represent a challenging taxonomic issue due to the extreme alikeness of the species analysed in the present work. To resolve these difficulties, we have performed morphological analyses and used three nuclear markers (ribosomal 18S and 28S, Elongation Factor, a new anonymous marker named Tnuc813) and two mitochondrial fragments (Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, and a fragment encompasing NADH deshydrogenase subunit 4 gene, trnF and the beginning of the Cytochrome c oxidase I gene) in an integrative taxonomic study. Methods. To unveil cryptic species, we applied a molecular species delimitation approach based on molecular discovery methods, followed by a validation method. The putative species so delimited were then validated on the basis of diagnostic morphological features. Results. We discovered and described four new species, namely Cratera assu, C. tui, C. boja, and C. imbiri. A fifth new species, C. paraitinga was not highly supported by molecular evidence, but was described because its morphological attributes are unique. Our study documents for the genus Cratera the presence of a number of highly similar species, a situation that is present also in other genera of land planarians. The high number of poorly differentiated and presumably recent speciation events might be explained by the recent geological history of the area. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 16/18295-5 - Diversidade e áreas de endemismos de planárias terrestres no Sul da Mata Atlântica e seus fatores causais
• Beneficiário: Fernando Jesús Carbayo Baz
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 19/12357-7 - Estudos taxonômicos integrados de planárias terrestres (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) neotropicais, com ênfase na diversidade brasileira e chilena, e suas áreas de endemismos na Mata Atlântica
• Beneficiário: Fernando Jesús Carbayo Baz
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular