In:
Vertebrate Zoology, Pensoft Publishers, Vol. 73 ( 2023-05-26), p. 513-523
Abstract:
Using 3226-bp-long mtDNA sequences and five nuclear loci (Cmos, ODC, R35, Rag1, Rag2, together 3409 bp), we examine genetic differentiation and relationships of Central American slider turtles ( Trachemys grayi , T. venusta ). Our investigation also included samples from taxa endemic to North America ( T. gaigeae , T. scripta ), the Antilles ( T. decorata , T. decussata , T. stejnegeri , T. terrapen ), and South America ( T. dorbigni , T. medemi plus the two T. venusta subspecies endemic to northern South America). Our mitochondrial phylogeny retrieves all studied species as distinct, with three well-supported clades in a polytomy: (1) the Central and South American species ( T. grayi + T. venusta ) + ( T. dorbigni + T. medemi ), (2) the Antillean species, and (3) T. gaigeae + T. scripta . Our nuclear DNA analyses also suggest three distinct but conflicting clusters: (1) T. scripta plus the Antillean species, (2) T. gaigeae , and (3) the Central and South American species T. dorbigni , T. grayi , T. medemi , and T. venusta . However, in the mitochondrial phylogeny, T. gaigeae is the little divergent sister taxon of T. scripta . This conflicting placement of T. gaigeae suggests a distinct evolutionary trajectory and old hybridization with T. scripta and mitochondrial capture. Despite prominent color pattern differences, genetic divergences within T. grayi and T. venusta are shallow and the taxonomic diversity of each species with several currently recognized subspecies could be overestimated. Finally, we provide for the first time evidence for the occurrence of T. grayi along the Caribbean versant of Costa Rica.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2625-8498
,
1864-5755
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure1
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure2
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure3
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure4
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure5
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure6
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.figure7
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.suppl1
DOI:
10.3897/vz.73.e104438.suppl2
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Pensoft Publishers
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2392087-7
SSG:
12