The role of the Sunda shelf biogeographic barrier in the cryptic differentiation of Conus litteratus (Gastropoda: Conidae) across the Indo-Pacific region.

ABSTRACT: Geographical and oceanographic processes have influenced the speciation of marine organisms. Cone snails are marine mollusks that show high levels of endemism and a wide distributional range across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Discontinuities in distributions caused by biogeographic barriers can affect genetic connectivity. Here we analysed the connectivity within Conus litteratus using samples from the Lakshadweep archipelago (Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean) and from the Pacific Ocean. Maximum likelihood analyses based on the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) and on the non-coding 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) genes revealed cryptic diversity within C. literatus occupying distinct oceanographic regions. The intraspecific genetic distances between the two

SUBMITTER: Ameri S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10351507 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature