title: Multiple cryptic species in the blue-spotted maskray (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae: Neotrygon spp.): An update.
abstract: Previous investigations have uncovered divergent mitochondrial clades within the blue-spotted maskray, previously Neotrygon kuhlii (Müller and Henle). The hypothesis that the blue-spotted maskray may consist of a complex of multiple cryptic species has been proposed, and four species have been recently described or resurrected. To test the multiple cryptic species hypothesis, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships and coalescence patterns of mitochondrial sequences in a sample of 127 new individuals from the Indian Ocean and the Coral Triangle region, sequenced at both the CO1 and cytochrome b loci. The maximum-likelihood (ML) tree of concatenated CO1+cytochrome b gene sequences, rooted by the New Caledonian maskray N. trigonoides, yielded 9 strongly supported, main clades. Puillandre's ABGD algorithm detected gaps in nucleotide distance consistent with the ML phylogeny. The general mixed Yule-coalescent algorithm partitioned the dataset into putative species generally consistent with the ML phylogeny. Nuclear markers generally confirmed that distinct mitochondrial clades correspond to genetically isolated lineages. The nine main lineages identified by ML analysis were geographically distributed in a parapatric fashion, indicating reproductive isolation. The hypothesis of multiple cryptic species is thus validated.
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Oceans department, Marseille, France. Electronic address: philippe.borsa@ird.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borsa
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kang-Ning
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI), Pusat Penelitian Oseanografi (P2O), Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Irma S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Arlyza
authors.affiliation: Molecular Ecology and Evolution Programme, Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Thierry B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Hoareau
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000235:genetics; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005663:Furans; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D019156:Indian Ocean; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics; D010421:Pentanoic Acids; D010802:Phylogeny; D012860:Skates, Fish / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D005663:Furans; D005819:Genetic Markers; D010421:Pentanoic Acids; C571022:dasycarpusacid; D045304:Cytochromes c; D004247:DNA; D045303:Cytochromes b
keywords: Coral Triangle; Distribution parapatrique; Indo-Pacifique ouest; Indo-West Pacific; Neotrygon kuhlii; Neotrygon trigonoides; Parapatric distribution; Triangle du corail