title: Species delimitation and phylogeography of the Pectenia species-complex: A misunderstood case of species-pairs in lichenized fungi, where reproduction mode does not delimit lineages.
abstract: The main goal of this work was to study species boundaries in the genus Pectenia and elucidate the biogeographic history of the four currently accepted species. To accomplish this, we included 92 specimens across the range of Pectenia in Europe and northern Africa. We used three nuclear loci and assessed species circumscription using two Bayesian coalescent-based methods and the Bayes Factor approach. We reviewed the value of reproductive mode and other morphological features as predictors of monophyletic groups. Our results suggest that the production of asexual propagules and sexual structures are not characterizing monophyletic groups. The genus includes two morphologically well-characterized main lineages, where one lineage is composed by two sub-lineages that are with a case of cryptic speciation explained by a biogeographic pattern. We suggest treating the two lineages as two species, which are characterized by lobe structure: Pectenia plumbea and P. atlantica. Both of these species include samples with asexual propagules and apothecia, and thus do not correspond to any of the earlier morphologically defined species. The results of the biogeographic analysis indicate that the Mediterranean basin is the most likely ancestral distribution area of P. plumbea, whereas P. atlantica probably originated in Macaronesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, The Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Biology, Geology, Physic and Inorganic Chemical, Rey Juan Carlos University, Móstoles, 28932, Spain. Electronic address: monica.garcia.otalora@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mónica A G
authors.initials: MAG
authors.lastname: Otálora
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Geology, Physic and Inorganic Chemical, Rey Juan Carlos University, Móstoles, 28932, Spain.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Geology, Physic and Inorganic Chemical, Rey Juan Carlos University, Móstoles, 28932, Spain.
authors.forename: Gregorio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aragón
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, The Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wedin
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005060:Europe; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
keywords: Biogeography; Integrative taxonomy; Phylogeny; Species boundaries; Species complex; Synonymy