Abstract
Leucothoe eltoni Thomas, 2015 was described from Indonesia and the Philippines and has been documented as an established invasive species of the Hawaiian Islands, USA. Recently, morphologically identical specimens were collected from US military piers in Okinawa, Japan. As the likelihood of one species inhabiting both sides of the Pacific is highly unlikely, molecular DNA sequence data from specimens of each population were analyzed to confirm that they are in fact the same species. 18S rDNA and COI mtDNA were amplified and sequenced from 64 specimens (31 from Honolulu, HI, 21 from Maui, HI, and 16 from Okinawa, Japan). DNA sequences are nearly identical between Hawaii and Okinawa specimens; yet fresh material is required from the type locality to obtain valid DNA sequence data and to confirm the molecular identity of L. eltoni from Indonesia and the Philippines. However, the sequence data from the Hawaii and Okinawa populations confirm that this species is also in Japan, and based on collection localities, they are most likely transported within their fouling hosts on US military vessels. In the future, these results can be used to advance the understanding of the patterns of introduction that invasive species may utilize.
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