Indication of cryptic taxa within the flat needlefish, Ablennes hians based on analysis of the cytochrome oxidase I region on a wide range of samples

ABSTRACT

We analysed the genetic structure with respect to geographic distribution of the flat needlefish, Ablennes hians, previously considered as having a circumtropical distribution. Cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcode region sequences were constructed for a specimen from the Mediterranean, and a specimen from Japan. The sequences of the studied specimens were compared with 18 barcodes of this species from Barcode of Life Data-systems (BOLD). The results revealed that genetic distances between groups of specimens from different geographic regions can be as high as 10.9%, and in most comparisons were above the widely accepted threshold level of within-species variation. This suggests the occurrence of several cryptic taxa within the Ablennes hians complex.

KEYWORDS:

• DNA barcoding
• cryptic species
• migration
• Mediterranean Sea

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Prof. Hyun Woo Kim and Dr Jobaidul Alam from Pukyong National University, Korea, for kindly providing sampling location data for the specimen from Egypt (GBMNB10202–20).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).