A Sister Species for the Blue Crab, <i>Callinectes sapidus</i>? A Tale Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA
Chiara Locci,
Ilenia Azzena,
Noemi Pascale,
Alessandra Ciccozzi,
Ilaria Deplano,
Ioannis A. Giantsis,
Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos,
Athanasios Lattos,
Flavio Orrù,
Cesare M. Puzzi,
Fabio Scarpa,
Marco Casu,
Daria Sanna
Affiliations
Chiara Locci
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Ilenia Azzena
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Noemi Pascale
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Alessandra Ciccozzi
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Ilaria Deplano
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Ioannis A. Giantsis
Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos
Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Athanasios Lattos
Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Flavio Orrù
GRAIA Gestione Ricerca Ambientale Ittica Acque, Via Repubblica 1, 21020 Varano Borghi, Italy
Cesare M. Puzzi
GRAIA Gestione Ricerca Ambientale Ittica Acque, Via Repubblica 1, 21020 Varano Borghi, Italy
Fabio Scarpa
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Marco Casu
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Daria Sanna
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
The Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is acknowledged as one of the worst invasive alien species in the Mediterranean, impacting biodiversity and human activities. Native to the western Atlantic, it has expanded to European coastal waters since the early 1900s. Despite its ecological and commercial importance, genetic research on this species is limited. Here we show a comprehensive investigation of the genetic variation and evolutionary history in Callinectes sapidus using 667 mitochondrial COI gene sequences. Our dataset encompasses 36 newly generated sequences from previously understudied Mediterranean sites and 631 from worldwide locations obtained from the GenBank public database. Our findings reveal two distinct, but closely related, genetic groups within the species’ distribution range, suggesting the occurrence of a potential species complex. Furthermore, in the Mediterranean, low levels of genetic variability were observed except for substantial haplotypic differentiation in Turkish samples. This study depicts the global genetic diversity and evolutionary patterns of Callinectes sapidus, offering new insights into the taxonomic status of the species.
