Species boundaries among extremely diverse and sexually dimorphic Arrenurus water mites (Acariformes: Hydrachnidia: Arrenuridae)

Abstract

Arrenurus (Arrenuridae) is the most species-rich genus of mites with about 1000 named species that inhabit standing, and to a lesser extent, running water habitats around the world. To date, distinguishing species of Arrenurus has been based on male reproductive morphology. Here, we use morphological and molecular approaches to examine species boundaries among 42 named species of Arrenurus, including four named species that have colour variants (red and green A. americanus, and red and blue A. intermedius, A. manubriator and A. apetiolatus), and two unnamed morphospecies. In this study, we examine male genital structures with the use of SEM techniques, and apply mitochondrial (COI barcode region) and nuclear (28S rRNA) gene fragments to test whether male morphology reflects species boundaries in Arrenurus assessed by molecular analyses. Our results reveal that male reproductive morphology parallels species boundaries as judged by molecular data. We discuss the cases of genetically poorly diversified, yet morphologically clearly defined named species. Moreover, we show that based on the species we examined, colour morphs within otherwise morphologically similar specimens represent within-species variation and, in the absence of other diagnostic traits, colour itself can be misleading in distinguishing species. Our outcomes on molecular taxonomy of Arrenurus provide a background for testing hypotheses about speciation rate in water mites.