Abstract
The correct identification of species is an essential step before any study on biodiversity, ecology or genetics. Keratella is a genus with a predominantly temperate distribution and with several species being endemics or restricted geographically. Its diversity may be underestimated considering the confusing taxonomy of species complexes such as K. cochlearis. In this study, we examined genetic diversity and morphology among some Keratella populations from Mexico in order to determine if these populations represent different species. We analyzed a dataset of previously published and newly generated sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene and the nuclear ITS1 marker. We conducted phylogenetic analyses and applied three methods of species delimitation (ABGD, PTP and GMYC) to identify evolutionary significant units (ESUs) equivalent to species. Morphological analyses were conducted through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and morphometry under a compound microscope. In the present study, three new species Keratella cuitzeiensis sp. nov., Keratella huapanguensis sp. nov., and Keratella albertae sp. nov., are formally described. These species were collected in high-altitude water bodies located in the Central Plateau of Mexico. Combining DNA results through COI and ITS1 molecular markers and morphology it was possible to confirm the identity of the new species.
Highlights
Species are the fundamental unit of biodiversity; any biodiversity analyses, as well as genetic, physiological and ecological studies, rely on the proper delimitation and identification of species [1]
ITS1 trees, because specimens grouped in these lineages, morphologically resemble the K. tropica species (Figures 3 and 4)
c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and ITS1 trees, because specimens grouped in these lineages, morphologically resemble the K. tropica species (Figures 3 and 4)
Summary
Species are the fundamental unit of biodiversity; any biodiversity analyses, as well as genetic, physiological and ecological studies, rely on the proper delimitation and identification of species [1]. Rotifera is a phylum of microscopic animals (50–2000 μm) that are globally distributed in aquatic ecosystems [3] They play an essential role in aquatic food webs by transferring energy to higher trophic levels [4,5]. Rotifera harbors a high level of cryptic diversity [6], and this hidden diversity is expected due to the small size of rotifers, the scarcity of rotifer taxonomists that can identify them reliably, the lack of taxonomically relevant morphological features, little or no morphological variation between species, as well as the high level of phenotypic plasticity present in several species [2,7]. Cryptic species complexes have been described for taxa such as Brachionus plicatilis (Müller, 1786) [8,9], B. calyciflorus Pallas, 1766 [10], Epiphanes senta (Müller, 1773) [11], Polyarthra dolichoptera (Idelson, 1925) [12], Keratella cochlearis (Gosse, 1851) [13,14], Limnias melicerta (Weisse, 1848)
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