Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles
Four species of true crocodile (genus Crocodylus) have been described from the Americas. Three of these crocodile species exhibit non-overlapping distributions—Crocodylus intermedius in South America, C. moreletii along the Caribbean coast of Mesoamerica, and C. rhombifer confined to Cuba. The fourt...
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-11-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/5836.pdf |
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| author | Yoamel Milián-García Michael A. Russello Jessica Castellanos-Labarcena Martin Cichon Vikas Kumar Georgina Espinosa Natalia Rossi Frank Mazzotti Evon Hekkala George Amato Axel Janke |
| author_facet | Yoamel Milián-García Michael A. Russello Jessica Castellanos-Labarcena Martin Cichon Vikas Kumar Georgina Espinosa Natalia Rossi Frank Mazzotti Evon Hekkala George Amato Axel Janke |
| author_sort | Yoamel Milián-García |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Four species of true crocodile (genus Crocodylus) have been described from the Americas. Three of these crocodile species exhibit non-overlapping distributions—Crocodylus intermedius in South America, C. moreletii along the Caribbean coast of Mesoamerica, and C. rhombifer confined to Cuba. The fourth, C. acutus, is narrowly sympatric with each of the other three species. In this study, we sampled 113 crocodiles across Crocodylus populations in Cuba, as well as exemplar populations in Belize and Florida (USA), and sequenced three regions of the mitochondrial genome (D-loop, cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I; 3,626 base pair long dataset) that overlapped with published data previously collected from Colombia, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. Phylogenetic analyses of these data revealed two, paraphyletic lineages of C. acutus. One lineage, found in the continental Americas, is the sister taxon to C. intermedius, while the Greater Antillean lineage is most closely related to C. rhombifer. In addition to the paraphyly of the two C. acutus lineages, we recovered a 5.4% estimate of Tamura-Nei genetic divergence between the Antillean and continental clades. The reconstructed paraphyly, distinct phylogenetic affinities and high genetic divergence between Antillean and continental C. acutus populations are consistent with interspecific differentiation within the genus and suggest that the current taxon recognized as C. acutus is more likely a complex of cryptic species warranting a reassessment of current taxonomy. Moreover, the inclusion, for the first time, of samples from the western population of the American crocodile in Cuba revealed evidence for continental mtDNA haplotypes in the Antilles, suggesting this area may constitute a transition zone between distinct lineages of C. acutus. Further study using nuclear character data is warranted to more fully characterize this cryptic diversity, resolve taxonomic uncertainty, and inform conservation planning in this system. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:37:08Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-51af7d89b99c41aca76e960de8f11f6d2023-12-03T10:55:41ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-11-016e583610.7717/peerj.5836Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater AntillesYoamel Milián-García0Michael A. Russello1Jessica Castellanos-Labarcena2Martin Cichon3Vikas Kumar4Georgina Espinosa5Natalia Rossi6Frank Mazzotti7Evon Hekkala8George Amato9Axel Janke10Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, CubaDepartment of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, CanadaDepartamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, CubaSenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main, GermanySenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main, GermanyDepartamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, CubaWildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, USAFort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, New York, NY, USASackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USASenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main, GermanyFour species of true crocodile (genus Crocodylus) have been described from the Americas. Three of these crocodile species exhibit non-overlapping distributions—Crocodylus intermedius in South America, C. moreletii along the Caribbean coast of Mesoamerica, and C. rhombifer confined to Cuba. The fourth, C. acutus, is narrowly sympatric with each of the other three species. In this study, we sampled 113 crocodiles across Crocodylus populations in Cuba, as well as exemplar populations in Belize and Florida (USA), and sequenced three regions of the mitochondrial genome (D-loop, cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I; 3,626 base pair long dataset) that overlapped with published data previously collected from Colombia, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. Phylogenetic analyses of these data revealed two, paraphyletic lineages of C. acutus. One lineage, found in the continental Americas, is the sister taxon to C. intermedius, while the Greater Antillean lineage is most closely related to C. rhombifer. In addition to the paraphyly of the two C. acutus lineages, we recovered a 5.4% estimate of Tamura-Nei genetic divergence between the Antillean and continental clades. The reconstructed paraphyly, distinct phylogenetic affinities and high genetic divergence between Antillean and continental C. acutus populations are consistent with interspecific differentiation within the genus and suggest that the current taxon recognized as C. acutus is more likely a complex of cryptic species warranting a reassessment of current taxonomy. Moreover, the inclusion, for the first time, of samples from the western population of the American crocodile in Cuba revealed evidence for continental mtDNA haplotypes in the Antilles, suggesting this area may constitute a transition zone between distinct lineages of C. acutus. Further study using nuclear character data is warranted to more fully characterize this cryptic diversity, resolve taxonomic uncertainty, and inform conservation planning in this system.https://peerj.com/articles/5836.pdfCrocodylus acutusAmerican crocodilemtDNAPhylogenyCryptic species |
| spellingShingle | Yoamel Milián-García Michael A. Russello Jessica Castellanos-Labarcena Martin Cichon Vikas Kumar Georgina Espinosa Natalia Rossi Frank Mazzotti Evon Hekkala George Amato Axel Janke Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles PeerJ Crocodylus acutus American crocodile mtDNA Phylogeny Cryptic species |
| title | Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles |
| title_full | Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles |
| title_fullStr | Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles |
| title_short | Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles |
| title_sort | genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of american crocodile crocodylus acutus in the greater antilles |
| topic | Crocodylus acutus American crocodile mtDNA Phylogeny Cryptic species |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/5836.pdf |
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