Phylogeny and biogeography of the freshwater crayfish Euastacus (Decapoda: Parastacidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2005 Oct;37(1):249-63. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.034.

Abstract

Euastacus crayfish are endemic to freshwater ecosystems of the eastern coast of Australia. While recent evolutionary studies have focused on a few of these species, here we provide a comprehensive phylogenetic estimate of relationships among the species within the genus. We sequenced three mitochondrial gene regions (COI, 16S, and 12S) and one nuclear region (28S) from 40 species of the genus Euastacus, as well as one undescribed species. Using these data, we estimated the phylogenetic relationships within the genus using maximum-likelihood, parsimony, and Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo analyses. Using Bayes factors to test different model hypotheses, we found that the best phylogeny supports monophyletic groupings of all but two recognized species and suggests a widespread ancestor that diverged by vicariance. We also show that Euastacus and Astacopsis are most likely monophyletic sister genera. We use the resulting phylogeny as a framework to test biogeographic hypotheses relating to the diversification of the genus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Astacoidea / classification*
  • Astacoidea / genetics
  • Australia
  • Base Sequence
  • Bayes Theorem
  • DNA, Mitochondrial*
  • Ecosystem
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Fresh Water
  • Geography
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Markov Chains
  • Models, Genetic
  • Phylogeny*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial