Abstract
We have constructed phylogenetic trees based on sequence comparisons of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 gene for 11Damaster blaptoides specimens from various localities of Japan. The specimens consist of eight “subspecies.”Coptolabrus fruhstorferi, Acoptolabrus gehinii, andProcrustes kolbei, which are taxonomically related toDamaster, have also been analyzed for comparison.Damaster is more related toAcoptolabrus than toCoptolabrus in the ND5 trees, in contrast to the generally accepted view thatDamaster is derived fromCoptolabrus, whereasAcoptolabrus is the sister group ofDamaster/Coptolabrus. The emergence ofProcrustes is much earlier than the rest of the genera. TheDamaster subspecies are monophyletic. Four major lineages are recognized, which are geography linked within the Japanese archipelago. The origin and diversification process have been discussed based on these findings.
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