title: Molecular analyses reveal the occurrence of three new sympatric lineages of velvet worms (Onychophora: Peripatidae) in the eastern Amazon basin.
abstract: In the present study, we investigated the possible existence of new lineages of peripatids through comparisons between known Neotropical species and specimens obtained from two locations in Pará, a state in eastern Brazilian Amazonia using a molecular approach based on sequences of the mtDNA genes COI, 16Sr RNA, and 18S RNA. The analyses included also sequences of Asian and African taxa for a more systematic understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within the group. The analysis of the COI, 16S rRNA and 18S RNA sequences permitted the identification of three distinct lineages (A, B and C) based on two different phylogenetic approaches (Bayesian methods and ML). The three lineages presented here are completely distinct from all other peripatid taxa so far defined by molecular data. The presence of specimens of three independent onychophoran lineages occurring in sympatry in the Amazon basin was confirmed in all the analyses, providing consistent support for the phylogenies presented in this study. These findings reinforce the importance of the Amazon region in the diversification of Neotropical peripatids, and indicate that onychophoran diversity is much greater than previously thought, given that the number of taxa found at a single site was equivalent to the total number of allopatric species described for the entire region.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética e Conservação, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Williana T R
authors.initials: WTR
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética e Conservação, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rita C O
authors.initials: RCO
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética e Conservação, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Araripe
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética e Biologia Molecular, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iracilda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética e Biologia Molecular, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Horacio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética e Conservação, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Péricles S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Rêgo