Austropotamobius torrentium is one of four native European crayfish species inhabiting Croatian freshwaters. Existence of eight divergent monophyletic mtDNA phylogroups was described within A. torrentium; six of them are distributed in Croatia, with the highest genetic diversity established in its northern-central Dinaric region. Recent small-scale study of the stone crayfish morphological variability indicated significant differences among different phylogroups. In the present study larger sample size, covering populations from five phylogroups, was analysed with the aim of determining whether there are morphological characteristics that reliably separate stone crayfish from different phylogroups. Aiming this, 245 stone crayfish were analysed through traditional (TM) and, for the first time, geometric morphometric (GM) analyses. Multivariate discriminant analyses included 24 TM characteristics per crayfish, while GM comprised analyses of 22 landmarks on the dorsal side of cephalon. Both methods revealed congruent results, and significant differences among phylogroups in analysed features were obtained, with the cephalon shape contributing the most to crayfish discrimination. Research confirmed that both approaches, combined with statistical methods, are useful in distinguishing and separating crayfish phylogroups. Findings of present study are compatible with the previous molecular findings; stone crayfish present several distinct evolutionary lineages whose species status are currently undefined and require urgent clarification.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.