Vol. 61, 2022

(update: 2022.11.16)

Special issue: Systematics and Biogeography of Fiddler Crabs (articles 64–71). Editors: Hsi-Te Shih and Benny K. K. Chan

The Complete Mitogenome of Xeruca formosensis (Rathbun, 1921) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae), a Fiddler Crab Endemic to Taiwan, with its Phylogenetic Position in the Family

¹

and Hsi-Te Shih^2,*

¹Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, National Applied Research Laboratories, Kaohsiung 852, Taiwan. E-mail: mylalex@narlabs.org.tw (Liu)
²Department of Life Science and Research Center for Global Change Biology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan. *Correspondence: E-mail: htshih@dragon.nchu.edu.tw (Shih)

Received 1 January 2022 / Accepted 27 July 2022
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

Xeruca formosensis is a species and genus of fiddler crab endemic to Taiwan, with limited distribution in western Taiwan and the offshore Penghu Islands. This study reports the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of this species using next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome contains 15,684 bp, comprising 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs and a 750-bp intergenic space (control
region). The nucleotide composition is biased toward A+T (69.4%). A phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated protein-coding genes showed that the genera Xeruca Shih, 2015 and Tubuca Bott, 1973 are sister to each other. In addition, the phylogeny of the 16 available mitogenomes in the family Ocypodidae also supports the current systematics of this family based on one nuclear and two mitochondrial markers. As this species inhabits high intertidal mudflats with high temperature and high salinity, mitogenome analyses may help us understand the mechanisms of adaptation to extreme environments, as well as the connectivity of metapopulations based on mitogenomes from different populations.

Key words: Mitochondrial genome, Phylogenetic analysis, Endemic species and genus, Taiwan, Next-generation sequencing technology.

Citation: Liu MY, Shih HT. 2022. The complete mitogenome of Xeruca formosensis (Rathbun, 1921) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae), a fiddler crab endemic to Taiwan, with its phylogenetic position in the family. Zool Stud 61:69. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-69.

Supplementary materials: Fig. S1丨Table S1