Taxonomic re-examination of the hermit crab species Pagurus forceps and Pagurus comptus (Decapoda: Paguridae) by molecular analysis

Autor(es)

Mantelatto, Fernando Luis ; Pardo, Luis Miguel ; Pileggi, Leonardo Gomes ; Felder, Darryl L.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Zootaxa; v. N/A, n. 2133, p. 13-pg., 2009-06-16.

Resumo

The current taxonomy of two poorly known hermit crab species Pagurus forceps H. Milne Edwards, 1836 and Pagurus comptus White, 1847 from temperate Pacific and Atlantic coastlines of South America is based only on adult morphology. Past studies have questioned the separation of these two very similar species, which occur sympatrically. We included specimens morphologically assignable to P. forceps and P. comptus in a phylogenetic analysis, along with other selected anomuran decapods, based on 16S ribosomal gene sequences. Differences between samples putatively assigned to either P. forceps and P. comptus were moderate, with sequence similarity ranging from 98.2 to 99.4% for the fragments analyzed. Our comparison of mitochondrial DNA sequences (16S rRNA) revealed diagnostic differences between the two putative species, suggesting that P. forceps and P. comptus are indeed phylogenetically close but different species, with no genetic justification to support their synonymization. The polyphyly of Pagurus is not corroborated here among the represented Atlantic species, despite obviously complex relationships among the members of the genus. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 02/08178-9 - Espécies do gênero Portunus do Pacífico oeste e sua relação com as espécies do grupo Atlântico americano: um estudo sobre filogenia molecular, taxonomia e evolução
• Beneficiário: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 05/50651-1 - Sistematica filogenetica dos camaroes do genero macrobrachium (bate, 1868) do brasil:analises morfologicas e moleculares.
• Beneficiário: Leonardo Antonio Gomes Pileggi
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado