A potential third Manta Ray species near the Yucatan Peninsula? Evidence for a recently diverged and novel genetic Manta group from the Gulf of Mexico

作者：Hinojosa Alvarez Silvia; Walter Ryan P; Diaz Jaimes Pindaro^*; Galvan Magana Felipe^*; Paig Tran E Misty

来源：PeerJ, 2016, 4: e2586.

DOI：10.7717/peerj.2586

• Manta alfredi
• Yucatan manta ray
• ND5
• Genetic divergence
• Manta birostris

We present genetic and morphometric support for a third, distinct, and recently diverged group of Manta ray that appears resident to the Yucatan 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 Yucatan 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 Yucatan Manta Rays and M. birostris, or the retention of ancestral M. birostris signatures among Yucatan Manta Rays. Divergence of the genetically distinct Yucatan 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 Yucatan Manta Ray. Formal naming of the Yucatan 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.

• 出版日期2016-11-1