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DNA barcoding flags the existence of sympatric cryptic species in the slender codling Halargyreus johnsonii Günther, 1862 (Gadiformes, Moridae)

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Abstract

According to current systematics, the genus Halargyreus Günther, 1862 is composed of a single valid, widely distributed species, called H. johnsonii Günther, 1862, although DNA barcoding has previously suggested that specimens from New Zealand and Tasmania may belong to a different species. This research doubles the number of DNA barcodes of this species available in public repositories and expands the locations of the catches thereby allowing a better estimation of its intraspecific variability. A cladistic analysis of haplotype associations shows two independent clusters that could represent different species. These groupings overlap geographically in the North Atlantic Ocean, discarding the possibility of allopatry as previously proposed for the sequences from New Zealand and Tasmania. Similarly, none of the clusters could be assigned to H. johnsonii taking into account that the holotype comes precisely from the North Atlantic Ocean. Sequences from New Zealand and Tasmania are hierarchically linked to sequences from the North Atlantic, whereas other sequences from the South Seas, together with sequences from the North Atlantic and Pacific, form an independent group with no hierarchical link to the former. These preliminary results indicate not only the need to delve deeper into the systematics of the genus Halargyreus, but also suggest the existence of a complex of cryptic species of which an attempt should be made to clarify using the combined traditional and molecular taxonomies.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the captains, officers and crew of the research vessels “Vizconde de Eza” and “Miguel Oliver” for their efforts and professionalism during the expeditions in Galicia Bank, NAFO Regulatory Area and Porcupine Bank carried out by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO). We also extend our gratitude to the General Secretariat for Fisheries (Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) for providing the ship time and technical support and to the members of the research team who participated in the collection of the samples. We are grateful to Alberto Serrano (IEO, Santander) and Francisco Baldó (IEO, Cádiz) for their contribution in the sampling collection. The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments.

Funding

No funding was received for this investigation. The expeditions were funded by the European Union through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) within the National Program of collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy, and by the EC LIFE “Nature Biodiversity” INDEMARES project (07/NAT/E/000732), and FCT through national funds (UID/Multi/65704423/2019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Vigo, c/Fonte das Abelleiras s/n, Vigo, Spain

    Alejandro de Carlos

  2. Servizo de Planificación, Consellería do Mar e Medio Rural, Xunta de Galicia, Rúa dos Irmandiños s/n, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Rafael Bañón

  3. Grupo de Estudos do Medio Mariño (GEMM), Porto Deportivo s/n Ribeira, A Coruña, Spain

    Rafael Bañón

  4. Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Vigo, c/Fonte das Abelleiras s/n, Vigo, Spain

    Sara Cobo-Arroyo

  5. Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Cádiz, Puerto pesquero, Muelle de levante s/n, Cádiz, Spain

    Juan Carlos Arronte

  6. Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Subida Radio Faro, Vigo, Spain

    José Luis del Río

  7. Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos s/n, Matosinhos, Portugal

    David Barros-García

Authors
  1. Alejandro de Carlos
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  2. Rafael Bañón
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  3. Sara Cobo-Arroyo
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  4. Juan Carlos Arronte
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  5. José Luis del Río
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  6. David Barros-García
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alejandro de Carlos.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling were obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study and other publicly available are accessible in the BOLDSYSTEMS repository, www.boldsystems.org, typing “Halargyreus johnsonii” in the “Taxonomy” browse. Newly generated and already existing nucleotide sequences are also deposited in the GenBank repository, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank, with accession numbers included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].

Author contribution

ADC, RB and DBG conceived and designed the research. Specimen collection and identification was carried out by RB, JCA and JLDR. DBG obtained the DNA barcodes and carried out the computer analysis with the assistance of SCA. ADC, RB and DBG analysed the data. ADC wrote the manuscript with the help of RB and DBG. All the authors read and gave their approval to the manuscript.

Additional information

Communicated by R. Thiel

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de Carlos, A., Bañón, R., Cobo-Arroyo, S. et al. DNA barcoding flags the existence of sympatric cryptic species in the slender codling Halargyreus johnsonii Günther, 1862 (Gadiformes, Moridae). Mar. Biodivers. 50, 49 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01074-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01074-8

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