Filogeografia do grilo Endecous potiguar Castro-Souza, Zefa & Ferreira, 2017 (Orthoptera, Phalangopsidae): investigação de linhagens crípticas em cavernas na formação Jandaíra

Abstract

Cave crickets of the Phalangopsidae family are poorly studied, have low dispersal capacity, and wide distribution, making them an interesting system for phylogenetic and phylogeographic investigations. Within this family is the genus Endecous, which has been subdivided into three subgenera based on morphological characters and has most of its type localities in caves. Currently, all taxonomic research involving the genus uses morphological, bioacoustic and cytogeneticdata. Here, we reconstruct the phylogeny and phylogeography of E. potiguar Castro-Souza, Zefa & Ferreira, 2017 based on 151 partial sequences of the COX-1 gene with 571 bp for 21 different localities. Molecular phylogenies were reconstructed using Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood. Three approaches (ABGD, PTP and GMYC) were used for lineage delimitation. A Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure was performed using BAPS. Additionally, some specimens were selected for extraction of the phallic complex and analysis of morphological characters based on the original species description (Castro-Souza, Zefa & Ferreira, 2017). Some acoustic samples were also used for analysis. The Bayesian analysis suggested two clades, here treated as two possible species. These clades were supported by two of the three delimitation analyses, except for the PTP that followed the division made by Maximum Likelihood into three clades. The divergence time estimate suggests that this speciation occurred 7.40 Ma (95% HPD 13.80-3.75 Ma) ago. The initial divergence between the species is possibly correlated with a mechanism of vicariance after the emergence of the channel that would give rise to the Apodi-Mossoró River, in the period between the Miocene and the Quaternary. With the decrease in humidity, these species may have dispersed to caves with recent divergence times between the groups. We observed a morphological stasis, perhaps the result of a stabilizing selection due to niche conservatism.