Samuel Abalde, Fabio Crocetta, Manuel J Tenorio, Salvatore D'Aniello, Giulia Fassio, Paula C Rodríguez-Flores, Juan E Uribe, Carlos M L Afonso, Marco Oliverio, Rafael Zardoya
The Mediterranean cone snail, Lautoconus ventricosus, is currently considered a single species inhabiting the whole Mediterranean basin and the adjacent Atlantic coasts. Yet, no population genetic study has assessed its taxonomic status. Here, we collected 245 individuals from 75 localities throughout the Mediterranean Sea and used cox1 barcodes, complete mitochondrial genomes, and genome skims to test whether L. ventricosus represents a complex of cryptic species. The maximum likelihood phylogeny based on complete mitochondrial genomes recovered six main clades (hereby named blue, brown, green, orange, red, and violet) with sufficient sequence divergence to be considered putative species...
June 5, 2023: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution