Abstract
Revealing cryptic biodiversity and understanding their evolutionary histories is important to predict how climate change promoted diversification. The marine gastropod Reticunassa festiva is a common species distributed along the coast of China Seas and possesses cryptic diversity. In the present study, the phylogeographic pattern of R. festiva is investigated to test the potential mechanism that drove its diversification in China coastal regions using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear 28S rDNA sequences. Three highly divergent COI clades (Clades A, B, and C) with considerable differences in genetic distances, haplotype diversity, and nucleotide diversity among each other were identified. The estimated divergence time between the two dominant clades (Clades A and B) was 2.0711 Ma, corresponding to the third major cool period in the Pleistocene. The sea surface temperature fluctuation in the subtropical ancient East China Sea could be the major drivers for the diversification of the two R. festiva clades. It is also suggested that the distribution pattern of Clades A and B is shaped by two major ocean currents. This study provides evidence for the correlation between species diversification and climate change in the NW Pacific during the Pleistocene.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
