Phylogenetic position of the striped-legged forms of <i>Panulirus longipes</i> (A. Milne-Edwards, 1868)(Decapoda, Palinuridae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

Abstract

Morphological variation is observed among the striped-legged forms of <i>Panulirus longipes</i> (A. Milne-Edwards, 1868). Two forms have been described, a 'banded-whisker' and a 'white-whisker' form, which, until recently, were synonymized as <i>Panulirus longipes femoristriga</i> (Von Martens, 1872). In this study, analysis of partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene provides molecular evidence supporting the recognition of the white-whisker form <i>Panulirus femoristriga</i> (Von Martens, 1872) as a distinct species from the banded-whisker form <i>Panulirus longipes bispinosus</i> Borradaile, 1899. Nucleotide sequence divergence between the spotted-legged form <i>P. longipes longipes</i> (A. Milne-Edwards, 1868) and <i>P. longipes bispinosus</i> is estimated to be 3%. In contrast, sequence divergence between <i>P. femoristriga</i> and <i>P. longipes bispinosus</i> was estimated to be 17.8%, and is comparable to levels of genetic differentiation between other <i>Panulirus</i> species as well as among other crustacean taxa. The present result is concordant with previous analyses based on morphological characters and allozyme markers. A molecular phylogeny of selected Indo-Pacific <i>Panulirus</i> species is also presented, and is likewise broadly consistent with phylogenetic relationships inferred from morphological characters. The sympatric occurrence of <i>P. longipes longipes, P. longipes bispinosus</i>, and <i>P. femoristriga</i> in the Philippines is reported.