Integrative Taxonomic Study of the Purse Crab Genus Persephona Leach, 1817 (Brachyura: Leucosiidae): Combining Morphology and Molecular Data

Abstract

Marine crabs of the genus Persephona Leach, 1817 are restricted to American waters of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Subfamilial assignment of this taxon has varied between authors and its species composition remain in question. We conducted a comparative study based on morphology and molecular phylogenetics for all ten recognized species of Persephona, along with Iliacantha hancocki. We tested whether Persephona finneganae, P. lichtensteinii, and P. crinita represent a single species as suggested by some authors; whether specimens identified as P. punctata, P. mediterranea, and P. aquilonaris warrant treatment as separate species; and whether I. hancocki should be regarded as a junior synonym of P. subovata. Diagnostic morphological characters (of the carapace, chelipeds, and third maxillipeds) were used along with gonopod (male first pleopod 1) features and live coloration. The 16S rRNA and the Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) (DNA barcoding) mitochondrial genes were used as molecular markers. Both morphological and molecular analyses revealed that putative specimens of P. crinita from Brazil and those assigned to P. finneganae were no different from specimens presently assignable to P. lichtensteinii. P. finneganae is regarded as a junior synonym of P. lichtensteinii, and we apply P. crinita only to specimens we examined from the Gulf of Mexico. Specimens from Brazil previously reported as P. crinita are herewith concluded to represent P. lichtensteinii. Additionally, P. townsendi is a junior synonym of P. orbicularis, Iliacantha hancocki is concluded to be a junior synonym of P. subovata, while P. aquilonaris and P. mediterranea are found to represent separate species. On the basis of our revisions, eight species of Persephona are considered valid, and the reported distribution for P. crinita is restricted.

Spatial and temporal distribution and abundance of two species of Persephona (Decapoda: Brachyura: Leucosiidae) on the southern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

“…Negreiros-Fransozo et al (1989), described the larval development of P. mediterranea; Bertini et al (2001) and Pereira et al (2014) reported the spatial-temporal distribution of three species of Persephona; Bertini et al (2010) estimated the reproductive period and sexual maturity of P. mediterranea in Ubatuba; and Almeida et al (2013) compared the relative growth, sexual maturity, and reproductive period of three species of the genus. A taxonomic review of the genus was published by Magalhães (2016), and comparative analysis of the distribution and sexual maturity of P. lichteinsteiini and P. punctata was performed by Carvalho et al (2010) on the coast of Ilhéus, state of Bahia.…”

“…The two species studied herein have a wide distribution. Persephona mediterranea is found in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, and Uruguay (Magalhães et al 2016). Persephona punctata is distributed in the Carribean Sea, the Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Guianas, Suriname, and Brazil (Magalhães et al 2016).…”

“…Persephona mediterranea is found in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, and Uruguay (Magalhães et al 2016). Persephona punctata is distributed in the Carribean Sea, the Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Guianas, Suriname, and Brazil (Magalhães et al 2016). Despite their wide distribution, there are gaps in the knowledge about their ecology and studies in areas with different environmental features are extremely important to assess how environment modulates their distribution and abundance.…”

Avaliação sistemática de camarões de água doce do gênero Atya Leach, 1816 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) por meio de dados moleculares

“…Além de similaridade nucleotídica, reconstruções filogenéticas também são utilizadas na sistemática molecular como um método para delimitar espécies (Schubart, 2011;Bracken-Grissom et al, 2014;Magalhães et al, 2016). A delimitação de espécies baseada no compartilhamento de caracteres em árvores filogenéticas é relevante dentro de uma perspectiva que busca avaliar e propor hipóteses taxonômicas que reflitam linhagens em um contexto evolutivo, confrontando as linhagens evidenciadas às espécies inicialmente reconhecidas (Schubart, 2011;DeSalle et al, 2005).…”

“…-Avaliar por meio de dados moleculares as hipóteses taxonômicas das espécies A. gabonensis, A. innocous, A. margaritacea e A. scabra, contribuindo na resolução de questões sistemáticas do gênero Atya. (Brown et al, 1979;Moritz et al, 1987;Ballard & Whitlock, 2004 (Klotz & von Rintelen, 2014;Magalhães et al, 2016;Phiri & Daniels, 2016;Vera-Silva et al, 2016).…”