title: Molecular systematics of the genus Holothuria in the Mediterranean and Northeastern Atlantic and a molecular clock for the diversification of the Holothuriidae (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea).
abstract: This work investigates the systematics of the genus Holothuria in the Mediterranean Sea and Northeastern Atlantic in the light of a wider molecular phylogenetic hypothesis of Holothuriidae, and it also provides a time-scale for the family diversification using mitochondrial markers and the molecular clock hypothesis. The subgenera Holothuria and Roweothuria are retrieved as paraphyletic. At least four separate lineages, with quite different time frameworks were identified. There are at least three species with an apparent long evolutionary history, H. forskali, H. sanctori and H. impatiens and six species belonging to Holothuria, Roweothuria and Vaneyothuria, which have diverged relatively recently.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain. gborrero@um.es
authors.forename: Giomar Helena
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Borrero-Pérez
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Zurita
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González-Wangüemert
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marcos
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-Ruzafa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D044822:Biodiversity; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D010802:Phylogeny; D012616:Sea Cucumbers / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial