Mitochondrial DNA barcoding for Okinawan oysters: a cryptic population of the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata in Japanese waters

We used mitochondrial (mt) DNA barcoding to evaluate the species diversity of oysters sampled from the coast of Okinawa Island, Japan. Our analysis revealed the presence of a hitherto-unrecognized population of the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata, a putative species closely related to the Pacific oyster C. gigas. Forty-eight Okinawan oyster specimens were collected and subjected to species diagnosis trials based on mtDNA barcodes. Of the 30 Crassostrea specimens, 17 were identified as C. angulata, seven as C. gigas and six as C. bilineata (syn. C. iredalei). The remaining 18 Saccostrea specimens formed several divergent clades in phylogenetic trees, although they could not be identified to species level because of the confounding taxonomy of the Saccostrea species complex. Our results stress the necessity for reviewing the species diversity of Okinawan oysters.