Vol. 62, 2023
(update: 2023.2.2)
Cryptic Genetic Diversity in
the Coastal Isopod Alloniscus
oahuensis from the Pacific Ocean
Carlos
A. Santamaria1,* and Maddy R. Koch2
doi:-
1Department
of Biology, College of Natural Health and Sciences, The University of
Tampa, Tampa, FL 33606, USA. *Correspondence: E-mail:
csantamaria@ut.edu (Santamaria)
2Biology Program, College of Science and Mathematics,
University of South Florida, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA. E-mail:
MRKoch@salud.unm.edu (Koch)
(Received 29 July 2022 / Accepted 14 January 2023 / Published -- 2023)
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan
The
isopod sub-order Oniscidea includes over 3,700 species and is known to
occur in all terrestrial environments, except those at extreme
elevations and polar latitudes. Current estimates of the biodiversity
of the Oniscidea may be underestimates, as recent molecular studies
have uncovered high levels of cryptic diversity in several taxa in the
sub-order. High levels of cryptic diversity have been found in coastal
species, species from remote and isolated regions, and species with
complex taxonomic histories. Alloniscus oahuensis
is a good candidate to harbor cryptic diversity, as it is a coastal
isopod species with a geographic range that spans several remote and
isolated archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean and that has a complex
taxonomic history. In this study, we use sequences for three
mitochondrial and one nuclear genes to determine whether A. oahuensis harbors highly divergent lineages that may represent cryptic species. By characterizing 60+ A. oahuensis
individuals from 17 localities from various Pacific Ocean archipelagos
we uncovered two deeply divergent lineages with disjunct distributions.
The levels of genetic divergence observed amongst the two lineages
match or exceed those reported across other cryptic species in the
Oniscidea, suggesting that A. oahuensis
may represent a cryptic species complex in need of a taxonomic
revision. Within lineage diversities were extremely low indicating that
A. oahuensis lineages may spread across the Pacific Ocean recently and potentially due to anthropogenic activity.
Key words: Oniscidea, cryptic species, Hawaiian Islands, Alloniscus brevis, Mitochondrial.
Citation: Santamaria CA, Koch MR. 2023. Cryptic genetic diversity in the coastal isopod Alloniscus oahuensis from the Pacific Ocean. Zool Stud 62:14.

Supplementary
materials: Supplementary file
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