Open AccessPhylogeography and diversity of the terrestrial isopod S pherillo grossus ( O niscidea: A rmadillidae) on the A ustralian E ast C oast
Author(s) -
Lee Timothy R. C.,
Ho Simon Y. W.,
Wilson George D. F.,
Lo Nathan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/zoj.12105
Subject(s) - biology , biological dispersal , phylogeography , zoology , mitochondrial dna , phylogenetic tree , ecology , vicariance , evolutionary biology , gene , genetics , population , demography , sociology
Recent work on terrestrial isopods has shown that morphospecies can have a high degree of genetic diversity. We conducted a molecular phylogenetic study of S pherillo grossus (Budde‐Lund, 1885), a terrestrial isopod endemic to the east coast of A ustralia. We sequenced the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene of 63 specimens from 12 collection localities. From a subset of these specimens, we also sequenced the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I ( COI ) and nuclear 18S rDNA genes. Deep mitochondrial divergences were found among groups of individuals (with p‐distances up to 15, 14, and 0.7% for 16S , COI , and 18S respectively), a pattern consistent with the hypothesis that gene flow between populations has been influenced by the fragmentation of A ustralia's mesic environment since the Miocene. We also found evidence of human‐mediated dispersal of S . grossus . Scanning electron and light microscopy of a subset of samples provide preliminary evidence that S . grossus is morphologically homogeneous. Our results mirror those found in studies of oniscid isopods from the Northern Hemisphere. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London