Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research最新文献

The genetic structure of parasite populations is affected by various factors such as host–parasite interactions, life-history strategies, and the evolutionary histories of both interacting organisms. In this study, we investigated the distribution, prevalence, and population-genetic structure of Icosiella neglecta (Spirurida, Onchocercidae), a nematode parasite found in Ranidae frogs. We reported this parasite from eight species of water frogs (genus Pelophylax) in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Its prevalence across investigated localities varied from 3.03% to 95.83%. Based on nucleotide variation in a 28S ribosomal RNA gene, all investigated I. neglecta sequences formed a well-supported phylogenetic clade and were placed in the sister position to the genus Ochoterenella. Despite the substantial genetic variability in a mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) fragment (33 unique haplotypes recognized among 91 sequences), we found only weak population-genetic structure across the study area. There was no obvious association of COI haplotypes with geography, except haplotypes from eastern Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq which formed a homogeneous, albeit only weakly differentiated group. The historical demographic analyses suggest that the species underwent a sudden and relatively recent population expansion. According to our results, we assume that the population-genetic structure of I. neglecta might be linked to the evolutionary history and dispersal of its dipteran vectors than water frog hosts.

The Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) are operational species units based on patterns of COI divergences that in most cases correspond to species. It has been repeatedly observed that more than one BIN can be found under the same species name particularly when large geographic scales are considered. One such case concerns Eupithecia conterminata, a species widespread in North European countries and restricted to mountainous regions in the rest of the continent, for which five BINs are found in Europe. In order to solve the question concerning the taxonomic status of these BINs and European populations, we employed an integrated approach by combining classical morphological traits (genitalia and wing markings) with those of molecular data, the latter involving both mitochondrial and nuclear genes. This approach allowed us to recognize two valid species in Europe, E. conterminata, currently known only in Fennoscandia, Baltic countries and Russia, and Eupithecia manniaria sp. rev., with distribution covering Central and South European countries. We furthermore synonymized Eupithecia pindosata syn. nov. from Greece with E. manniaria. The European range of these species and their mitochondrial diversity appear to be coherent with biogeographical histories of their foodplants Picea abies and Abies species.

A new predatory semislug, Libania rhodia sp. nov. (Oxychilidae: Daudebardiinae), is described from Rhodes. Whereas rudimentary shells of L. rhodia were previously identified with Lotharia cretica from Crete, the investigation of the genitalia demonstrated that it is a distinct species that differs from L. cretica in the lack of an externally differentiated epiphallus, the lack of a penis coecum, and the longer pedunculus of the bursa copulatrix. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences showed that, contrary to previous classifications, Libania is more closely related to Lotharia than to Daudebardia. Libania rhodia and L. cretica split already in the Early Miocene. The ancestor of the Libania–Lotharia clade colonized Crete from the east before a marine ingression formed the mid-Aegean trench, which separated Crete from the east Aegean Islands and Anatolia.

Ricinulei (hooded tick spiders or tick beetles), considered one of the smaller arachnid orders, is an ancient clade whose affinities are still debated. With three recognized genera, short-range endemism, and strict fidelity to the landmasses that have seen them evolve for hundreds of millions of years, the group has emerged as a novel system to understand deep biogeographic processes. Here we undertake a combined approach using phylotranscriptomics and deep Sanger sequencing of 133 ricinuleid specimens to better understand their relationships, divergence times, and species ranges by using a series of species delimitation analyses. Our results support the monophyly of the three recognized genera, Ricinoides in Africa, Pseudocellus in North America, and Cryptocellus in Mesoamerica and South America. Ricinoides is further divided into two or three deep clades corresponding to different ancestral forest refugia, and the sampled Cryptocellus segregate into a Mesoamerican and a South American clade, but a new species from Tobago is the sister group to the Mesoamerican clade in the transcriptomic analysis and not part of the South American clade. Despite not being known from adults, but given the fact that this is the only Ricinulei species from the Lesser Antilles and its pivotal phylogenetic position, the species is here formalized as Cryptocellus tobagoensis Giribet & Benavides sp. nov. Finally, species delimitation methods generally do well recognizing morphospecies, but they are unable to distinguish among some of them, suggesting the need for re-study of some of these species complexes and perhaps synonymy.

Although necessary to promote conservation, defining evolutionary units and naming biodiversity remain a difficult task, especially in problematic species groups that experienced a dynamic biogeographic history. In this article, we undertake such task for midwife toads of the Alytes obstetricans complex by integrating recent molecular studies altogether—multilocus phylogenies and population genetic barcoding. Despite a partly unresolved phylogeny underlain by deep cyto-nuclear discordances, nuclear and mitochondrial evidence support the validity of six genuine lineages assigned to two different species (A. obstetricans and A. almogavarii), which could be accurately mapped across most of their ranges. In particular, we demonstrate the existence for an overlooked yet genetically distinct lineage previously confounded with A. almogavarii, confined to the northern part of Huesca Province in the Spanish Central Pyrenees. We describe this micro-endemic as the subspecies Alytes almogavarii inigoi ssp. nov., with reports on the mating call and the larvae. Conservation genetics of eight populations of this new taxon revealed two independent conservation units, separated by topographic barriers. In the wait for upcoming genomic analyses to unravel many elusive aspects of the evolution, diversity and systematics of Alytes, the present paper offers an integrative phylogeographic overview to guide future investigations and generally illustrates how multiple lines of molecular evidence can be combined to clarify the confusing taxonomy of complex species groups.

Many lacustrine charrs of the genus Salvelinus were described as separate species, and their origin and phylogenetic relationships are still under debate. In this study, we described the genetic variation of charrs from Lake Grand (Elikchan Lake Group, the mainland coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia) and several locations outside of this system based on eight microsatellite (ms) loci and mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region. We tested the hypothesis of the resident charr membership to (a) the Arctic lineage of Salvelinus taranetzi sensu (Oleinik et al., Russian Journal of Genetics, 51, 2015, 55); (b) the Bering lineage of the Northern Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma malma; and (c) the Atlantic lineage of the Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus. Analysis of phylogenetic relationships based on the mtDNA control region showed that all individuals from Lake Grand grouped with the Bering lineage. Bayesian analysis using msDNA supports the clustering together of charrs from Lake Grand and Arctic lineage, regardless of their mtDNA haplotypes. Incongruence between mtDNA and msDNA markers provided strong evidence of historical mtDNA introgression from S. malma malma to S. taranetzi. Patterns of divergence confirm a postglacial secondary contact of the representatives of Arctic and Bering lineages in the area of the Sea of Okhotsk coast and past hybridization in Lake Grand with the following features: (a) complete fixation of introgressed mtDNA of one species within populations of another and (b) absence of modern population of S. malma malma in the lake.

While species boundaries between conspicuously divergent populations of the medically important snake genus Sinomicrurus are well established, instances of erratic chromatic and meristic variation continue to confound taxonomists, since the mid-1800s. This predicament can be attributed to an inadequate molecular phylogenetic framework and the lack of a comprehensive taxonomic representation of geographic variants. Here, we revisit lineage delineation in this genus, drawing cohesive evidence from a plurality of data and analysis types, including a promising, yet taxonomically under-utilized, supervised machine learning algorithm (random forest). Overall, this study incorporates data generated by molecular analyses as well as morphometrics and comparative anatomy based on 236 specimens from 28 different natural history collections examined by us, and an additional 161 records from 47 other sources. Our results indicate several very divergent evolutionary lineages concealed as subspecies. Thus, to better reflect this phylogenetic diversity, we raise S. macclellandi iwasakii from the southern Ryukyus and S. m. swinhoei from Taiwan to full species, and resurrect S. annularis. We highlight the need to distinguish at species level the current subspecies of S. japonicus, namely as, S. japonicus and S. boettgeri, and provide diagnostic characters to that end. On the other hand, given unpersuasive support of lineage independence, we sink Taiwanese S. hatori into S. sauteri and S. nigriventer into S. macclellandi. We also meticulously redescribe S. peinani from mainland China and Vietnam based on a substantial number of additional specimens, while synonymizing the recently described S. houi under S. kelloggi. We conclude with a discussion on the role of regional biogeography as a primary driver of cladogenesis in the genus.

The systematics and taxonomy of the scorpion family Euscorpiidae are still unresolved, and, within it, the eastern Adriatic scorpiofauna is largely unknown and under-researched. Based on two mitochondrial sequences (COI and 16S rRNA) and one nuclear marker sequence (ITS1), we put 107 newly analyzed samples originating from the Alps, the Eastern Adriatic, and the adjacent Dinaric karst area into phylogenetic context. Several species delineation approaches were applied to reveal cryptic diversity. Divergence time dating was used to highlight the major events in the evolutionary history of the genera Euscorpius and Alpiscorpius. The deep intraspecific genetic divergences observed in some clades warrant taxonomic revision of several taxa (Euscorpius tergestinus, Euscorpius hadzii, Euscorpius biokovensis, and Euscorpius (Alpiscorpius) croaticus). In this study, the population of E. hadzii from Lastovo Island (formerly Euscorpius carpaticus lagostae) is elevated to species level as Euscorpius lagostae Di Caporiacco, 1950, stat. nov. Euscorpius croaticus is moved to the genus Alpiscorpius as Alpiscorpius croaticus (Di Caporiacco, 1950) comb. nov. The distribution ranges of several species are revised, and based on the new data, a more detailed revision of species distribution is necessary. We attribute the major divergence events to the impact of the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and the Middle Pleistocene Climate Transition. The observed patterns are therefore a direct consequence of the geological history and complex topography of the region, which provided numerous microhabitats, as well as of the Pleistocene microrefugia that enabled their persistence.

Morphological variation and active migration of sables (Martes zibellina Linnaeus, 1758) cause confusion in this species’ intraspecific taxonomy. Four to 17 subspecies have been described thus far. In this study, we clarified sable population structure using 11 microsatellite loci in 665 specimens from 33 sable populations. According to subspecies taxonomy, we expect to find four genetic groups. Our results confirmed the presence of two genetic groups in the territories of Western Siberia (subspecies Martes zibellina zibellina Linnaeus, 1758) and the Western Altai Mountains (subspecies Martes zibellina averini Bashanov, 1943). Another genetic group is formed by the populations of the Central Siberian Plateau and presumably represents the subspecies Martes zibellina yeniseensis Ognev, 1925. Previous descriptions of the area occupied by this subspecies include the mountain regions of Southern Siberia. We found a few genetic groups in the Baikal region, whereas only one subspecies Martes zibellina princeps Birula, 1918 had been described previously.

Eumeces is a little-known group of skinks with few phylogenies published. Within its distribution range, five subspecies were identified for Schneider's Skink (Eumeces schneiderii) based on color pattern, pholidosis, intra- and inter-subspecific relationships, but the validity of these taxa has yet to be assessed using molecular markers. Here, a robust phylogeny of the E. schneiderii group is presented based on three molecular markers (Cytb, 16S rRNA, and c-mos) from 80 samples collected across Anatolia and the Iranian Plateau. Both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference approaches were used to infer phylogenetic relationships within this group. The results revealed monophyly of E. schneiderii subspecies and Eumeces persicus. These clades also differ in habitat preferences, with the small-bodied, striped forms generally inhabiting lower elevations and drier environments than the larger, uniform morph E. schneiderii subspecies. Molecular-clock dating based on Cytb implies that most speciation events took place during the Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene. A strongly supported basal dichotomy of Eumeces schneiderii zarudnyi + E. persicus in the southern and eastern slopes of the Zagros Mountains, with the E. schneiderii subspecies in the western Zagros, was identified in all individual and concatenated trees. Eumeces schneiderii zarudnyi should be elevated to species level and, therefore, we propose the name Eumeces zarudnyi for this taxon, increasing the number of species in the genus to seven described species.