TY - JOUR
T1 - A potential third Manta Ray species near the Yucatán Peninsula? Evidence for a recently diverged and novel genetic Manta group from the Gulf of Mexico
AU - Hinojosa-Alvarez, Silvia
AU - Walter, Ryan P.
AU - Diaz-Jaimes, Pindaro
AU - Galván-Magaña, Felipe
AU - Misty Paig-Tran, E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Hinojosa-Alvarez et al.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - We present genetic and morphometric support for a third, distinct, and recently diverged group of Manta ray that appears resident to the Yucatán coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Individuals of the genus Manta from Isla Holbox are markedly different from the other described manta rays in their morphology, habitat preference, and genetic makeup. Herein referred to as the Yucatán Manta Ray, these individuals form two genetically distinct groups: (1) a group of mtDNA haplotypes divergent (0.78%) from the currently recognized Manta birostris and M. alfredi species, and (2) a group possessing mtDNA haplotypes of M. birostris and highly similar haplotypes. The latter suggests the potential for either introgressive hybridization between Yucatán Manta Rays and M. birostris, or the retention of ancestral M. birostris signatures among Yucatán Manta Rays. Divergence of the genetically distinct Yucatán Manta Ray from M. birostris appears quite recent (< 100,000 YBP) following fit to an Isolation-with-Migration model, with additional support for asymmetrical gene flow from M. birostris into the Yucatán Manta Ray. Formal naming of the Yucatán Manta Ray cannot yet be assigned until an in-depth taxonomic study and further confirmation of the genetic identity of existing type specimens has been performed.
AB - We present genetic and morphometric support for a third, distinct, and recently diverged group of Manta ray that appears resident to the Yucatán coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Individuals of the genus Manta from Isla Holbox are markedly different from the other described manta rays in their morphology, habitat preference, and genetic makeup. Herein referred to as the Yucatán Manta Ray, these individuals form two genetically distinct groups: (1) a group of mtDNA haplotypes divergent (0.78%) from the currently recognized Manta birostris and M. alfredi species, and (2) a group possessing mtDNA haplotypes of M. birostris and highly similar haplotypes. The latter suggests the potential for either introgressive hybridization between Yucatán Manta Rays and M. birostris, or the retention of ancestral M. birostris signatures among Yucatán Manta Rays. Divergence of the genetically distinct Yucatán Manta Ray from M. birostris appears quite recent (< 100,000 YBP) following fit to an Isolation-with-Migration model, with additional support for asymmetrical gene flow from M. birostris into the Yucatán Manta Ray. Formal naming of the Yucatán Manta Ray cannot yet be assigned until an in-depth taxonomic study and further confirmation of the genetic identity of existing type specimens has been performed.
KW - Genetic divergence
KW - Manta alfredi
KW - Manta birostris
KW - ND5
KW - Yucatán manta ray
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994588743&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7717/peerj.2586
DO - 10.7717/peerj.2586
M3 - Artículo
SN - 2167-8359
VL - 2016
JO - PeerJ
JF - PeerJ
IS - 11
M1 - e2586
ER -