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20 March 2015 Morphology and DNA barcodes reveal the presence of the non-native land planarian Obama marmorata (Platyhelminthes : Geoplanidae) in Europe
Domingo Lago-Barcia, Fernando A. Fernández-Álvarez, Lisandro Negrete, Francisco Brusa, Cristina Damborenea, Cristina Grande, Carolina Noreña
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Abstract

We report for the first time the occurrence of Obama marmorata in the Iberian Peninsula as an introduced species from the Neotropical Region. The species is also reported for the first time in Argentina. The identification was made on the basis of morphological evidence. The divergence levels of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene from Argentinean and Iberian samples were studied. The morphology of samples from the two regions was the same and matched the original description of the species. A DNA barcoding matrix was constructed using new sequences from O. marmorata and sequences of related species taken from GenBank. Among the Geoplanidae, interspecific divergence ranged between 3.3 and 14.4%, while intraspecific divergence percentages were 0–1.2%, signalling the presence of a DNA barcoding gap. All O. marmorata sequences, irrespective of their geographic origin, form a well supported clade with an intraspecific divergence of 0–0.9 (average = 0.4%). These results indicate the utility of DNA barcoding to discover allochthonous species in this group of organisms.

© CSIRO 2015
Domingo Lago-Barcia, Fernando A. Fernández-Álvarez, Lisandro Negrete, Francisco Brusa, Cristina Damborenea, Cristina Grande, and Carolina Noreña "Morphology and DNA barcodes reveal the presence of the non-native land planarian Obama marmorata (Platyhelminthes : Geoplanidae) in Europe," Invertebrate Systematics 29(1), 12-22, (20 March 2015). https://doi.org/10.1071/IS14033
Received: 9 July 2014; Accepted: 1 October 2014; Published: 20 March 2015
KEYWORDS
Argentina
exotic species
Geoplaninae
Spain
terrestrial flatworm
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