Phylogenetic placement of two new species of New Zealand mite harvestmen based on target-capture of ultra-conserved elements (UCEs)


SOCIETY FOR INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
2021 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING (VAM)
January 3 – Febuary 28, 2021

Meeting Abstract


P28-2  Sat Jan 2  Phylogenetic placement of two new species of New Zealand mite harvestmen based on target-capture of ultra-conserved elements (UCEs) Dohr, SR*; Tuffield, MS; Hahn, KM; Ward, RS; Moore, CD; Shu, Y; Morisawa, R; Derkarabetian, S; Boyer, SL; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Harvard University; Macalester College sdohr@macalester.edu

We conducted species delimitation in mite harvestmen of the genus Aoraki, one of three genera of these tiny arachnids endemic to New Zealand, using integrative taxonomy combining morphology and genetic data. We sequenced two mitochondrial loci commonly used in species delimitation, and also used target-capture of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to generate data for an average of 378 loci per individual from a subset of our specimens. We imaged individual animals using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and made anatomical comparisons with described species. We identified two novel species based on unique features of the anal plate and fourth tarsus of male individuals. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA confirmed monophyly of each new species; a phylogeny based on preliminary UCE data confirms that each new species is most closely related to a geographically adjacent species. Although it is believed that most of the diversity of Aoraki is known, questions remain regarding species delimitation within the genus. The UCE approach we have piloted has great potential to resolve species limits in this group prone to cryptic speciation.

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