Cryptorchestia ruffoisp. n. from the island of Rhodes (Greece), revealed by morphological and phylogenetic analysis (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae).
A newCryptorchestiaspecies,Cryptorchestia ruffoiLatella & Vonk,sp. n.from the island of Rhodes in south-eastern Greece, can be distinguished on the basis of morphological and phylogenetic data. Morphological analysis and DNA sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear protein-coding genes indicated that this species is related toCryptorchestia cavimana(Cyprus) andCryptorchestia garbinii(Mediterranean regions, with a recent northward expansion). Results supported a genetic separation between theCryptorchestiaspecies of the east Mediterranean regions and those of the northeast Atlantic volcanic islands examined in this study (Cryptorchestia canariensis,Cryptorchestia gomeri,Cryptorchestia guancha, andCryptorchestia stockifrom the Canary islands,Cryptorchestia monticolafrom Madeira, andCryptorchestia chevreuxifrom the Azores). The Mediterranean and AtlanticCryptorchestiaspecies appear to be also morphologically distinct.Cryptorchestia ruffoisp. n.,Cryptorchestia cavimana,Cryptorchestia garbinii, andCryptorchestia kosswigi(Turkish coast) clearly have a small lobe on the male gnathopod 1 merus. This character was the main diagnostic difference betweenCryptorchestia(sensuLowry, 2013) andOrchestia. However, among the six northeast Atlantic islandCryptorchestiaspecies onlyCryptorchestia stockihas a small lobe on the merus of gnathopod 1. Reduction or loss of the lobe in the Atlantic Island species cannot be ruled out; however, molecular phylogenetic analysis leads us to presume that this lobe independently evolved between the east MediterraneanCryptorchestiaspecies andCryptorchestia stockifrom Gran Canaria.
INAIL, Research, Certification, Verification Area, Department of Technological Innovations and Safety of Plants, Products and Anthropic Settlements (DIT), Rome, Italy; Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Charles Darwin', Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell'Università, 32, - 00185 Rome, Italy.
Domenico
D
Davolos
Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Charles Darwin', Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell'Università, 32, - 00185 Rome, Italy.
Elvira De
E
Matthaeis
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Verona, Lungadige Porta Vittoria 9 - 37129, Verona, Italy.
Leonardo
L
Latella
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam 1098 XH, The Netherlands.
Ronald
R
Vonk
Greek islands; biogeography; freshwater; molecular phylogeny; taxonomy