Alpheus Anchored Hybrid Enrichment
We use an anchored hybrid enrichment (AHE) approach to resolve phylogenetic relationships among species of Alpheus. The AHE dataset includes 240 loci (>72,000 bp) for 65 terminal species that span the geographic, ecological, and taxonomic diversity of Alpheus. Our resulting, well-supported phylogeny demonstrates a lack of monophyly for five out of seven morphologically defined species groups that have traditionally been used as a framework in Alpheus taxonomy. Our results also suggest that symbiotic associations with a variety of other animals have evolved independently in at least seven lineages in this genus. Our AHE phylogeny represents the most comprehensive phylogenetic treatment of Alpheus to date and will provide a useful evolutionary framework to further investigate questions, such as various modifications of the snapping claw and the role of habitat specialization and symbiosis in promoting speciation.