Cryptic mtDNA Diversity of Diopatra cuprea (Onuphidae, Annelida) in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean

Simple Summary Molecular tools continue to reveal cryptic biodiversity within common and ecologically important species. The decorator worm Diopatra cuprea is an ecosystem engineer of intertidal beds of high-salinity estuaries of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shorelines. Here, we sequenced mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) in D. cuprea populations and discover evidence for several deep mitochondrial lineages, suggesting the presence of cryptic diversity. Marine annelid taxonomy is experiencing a period of rapid revision, with many previously cosmopolitan species being split into species with more limited geographic ranges. This is exemplified by the Diopatra genus, which has recently witnessed dozens of new species descriptions rooted in genetic analyses. In the northwestern Atlantic, the name D. cuprea (Bosc 1802) has been applied to populations from Cape Cod through the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and Brazil. Here, we sequenced mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) in D. cuprea populations from the Gulf of Mexico to Massachusetts. We find evidence for several deep mitochondrial lineages, suggesting that cryptic diversity is present in the D. cuprea complex from this coastline.

Automated summary

Molecular tools reveal cryptic biodiversity in common and ecologically important species, such as the decorator worm Diopatra cuprea. Genetic analyses have led to the identification of new species within the Diopatra genus, including the D. cuprea complex along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shorelines.