Genetic and morphological analyses indicate that the Australian endemic scorpion Urodacus yaschenkoi (Scorpiones: Urodacidae) is a species complex
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Biogeography, Evolutionary Studies, Taxonomy
- Keywords
- phylogeography, Australian scorpion, cryptic species, COXI, 16S and 28S rRNA, morphology
- Copyright
- © 2016 Luna-Ramirez et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2016. Genetic and morphological analyses indicate that the Australian endemic scorpion Urodacus yaschenkoi (Scorpiones: Urodacidae) is a species complex. PeerJ Preprints 4:e2541v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2541v1
Abstract
Background. Australian scorpions have received far less attention from researchers than their overseas counterparts. Here we provide the first insight into the molecular variation and evolutionary history of the endemic Australian scorpion Urodacus yaschenkoi. Also known as the inland robust scorpion, it is widely distributed throughout arid zones of the continent and is emerging as a model organism in biomedical research due to the chemical nature of its venom. Methods. We employed Bayesian Inference (BI) methods for the phylogenetic reconstructions and divergence dating among lineages, using unique haplotype sequences from two mitochondrial loci (COXI, 16S) and one nuclear locus (28S). We also implemented two DNA taxonomy approaches (GMYC and PTP/dPTP) to evaluate the presence of cryptic species. Linear Discriminant Analysis was used to test whether the linear combination of 21 variables (ratios of morphological measurements) can predict individual’s membership to a putative species. Results. Genetic and morphological data suggest that U. yaschenkoi is a species complex. High statistical support for the monophyly of several divergent lineages was found both at the mitochondrial loci and at a nuclear locus. The extent of mitochondrial divergence between these lineages exceeds estimates of interspecific divergence reported for other scorpion groups. The GMYC model and the PTP/bPTP approach identified major lineages and several sub-lineages as putative species. Ratios of several traits that approximate body shape had a strong predictive power (83–100%) in discriminating two major molecular lineages. A time-calibrated phylogeny dates the early divergence at the onset of continental-wide aridification in late Miocene and Pliocene, with finer-scale phylogeographic patterns emerging during the Pleistocene. This structuring dynamics is congruent with the diversification history of other fauna of the Australian arid zones. Discussion. Our results indicate that the taxonomic status of U. yaschenkoi requires revision, and we provide recommendations for such future efforts. A complex evolutionary history and extensive diversity highlights the importance of conserving U. yaschenkoi populations from different Australian arid zones in order to preserve patterns of endemism and evolutionary potential.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.
Supplemental Information
The data sets supporting the results of this article are included within the article and its additional files in Supplemental Files
Supplemental File 1. Pairwise uncorrected p-distance between 31 unique U. yaschenkoi haplotypes and three outgroup haplotypes (U. novaehollandiae and two U. manicatus). Haplotypes were generated from the concatenated partial sequences of COXI and 16S loci. Supplemental File 2. Pairwise uncorrected p-distance between 13 unique U. yaschenkoi haplotypes generated from the partial 28S sequence. Supplemental File 3. List of haplotype numbers assigned to the U. yaschenkoi samples. Supplemental File 4. Measures (in mm) of seven morphological traits in 39 U. yaschenkoi adult females.