Open AccessThe evolutionary history of the Chydoridae (Crustacea: Cladocera)
Author(s) -
SACHEROVÁ VERONIKA,
HEBERT PAUL D. N.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00216.x
Subject(s) - biology , monophyly , cladocera , evolutionary biology , phylogenetic tree , phylogenetics , zoology , crustacean , clade , gene , genetics
Although much is known about the evolutionary history of the pelagic ‘cladocerans’, there is little information on benthic families such as the Chydoridae. In this study, we examine the phylogenetic history of 37 chydorid species using sequence variation in two mitochondrial genes, COI and 16S rDNA, and one nuclear gene, 18S rDNA. The four recognized subfamilies of chydorids (Eurycercinae, Saycinae, Aloninae and Chydorinae) were well supported, being separated by large sequence divergences of 14.3–16.4%. By contrast, the existing taxonomic system appears to be less clear at a generic level, since many genera (e.g. Alona , Chydorus , Pleuroxus ) consist of an amalgam of distantly related species. However, among those genera which are monophyletic, levels of divergence are very high, suggesting that they originated somewhere in the mid‐Palaeozoic. The factors involved in promoting diversification in this group are discussed. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 79, 629–643.