• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.136-139
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• 2017

The genus Iksookimia (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cobitidae) is a bottom-dwelling freshwater loaches, which are well-known as their endemism and high geographic variation. However, population genetic relationships among Iksookimia spp. have remained unclear due to a shortage of genetic markers that can be applied generally in the genus. Here, we developed high-resolving microsatellite markers using I. koreensis and I. longicorpa as representatives of Iksookimia species because of their wide distribution range and phylogenetic position. Ten of polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from Iksookimia koreensis and were successfully cross-amplified in I. longicorpa. The mean number of observed alleles per locus was about 10.4 (range, 2-17) for I. koreensis and about 13.2 (range, 2-24) for I. longicorpa. The loci, IK03 and IK08, deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in I. koreensis, after applying the Bonferroni correction. The microsatellite markers obtained in the present study will be useful to evaluate population genetic structure and to establish conservation strategies for I. koreensis and related Iksookimia species.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.65-72
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• 2017

This study reports three species in the genus Tubastraea from Korea: Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829; Tubastraea faulkneri Wells, 1982; and Tubastraea micranthus (Ehrenberg, 1834). Tubastraea faulkneri and T. micranthus are newly recorded in Korea. The specimens of three species were collected in the subtidal zones off Jeju-do between 1991 and 2010. The two newly recorded species were described in detail based upon the morphological characters of skeletal structures. The previous records of T. coccinea in Korea were supplemented with additional data in the remarks. These three species have a straight septal arrangement or irregular septal fusion in common as a main character for the genus Tubastraea, but they differ with respect to the growth form, intercorallite distance, exsertness from common coenosteum, and the detailed characters of septal arrangement. Tubastraea faulkneri is similar to T. coccinea in its plocoid growth form, well developed common coenosteum, and corallite size. However, unlike the latter species, the former species is characterized by rare or absent budding adjacent to the corallite edges, wider intercorallite distance, and irregularly developed septal fusion near the columella. In particular, T. micranthus is distinguished by an axial dendroid growth form, and the smallest corallites in this genus.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.140-143
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• 2017

A winged midge species, Parochlus steinenii is one of the most abundant species in Antarctica, which is distributed over a wide area from the South American continent to the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica. It was dispersed into islands in the South Shetland Islands from the South American continent, and it adapted to a variety of environments and settled. This species, therefore, is a good model organism to explain the evolutionary process of Antarctic terrestrial fauna. Nevertheless, there are few genetic studies on this species, which are necessary for understanding the genetic diversity, population structure, etc. Here, we developed and characterized 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5. The observed and expected heterozygosities were in the range of 0.024 to 0.561 and 0.024 to 0.535, respectively. Identifying genetic differences between populations, they are suitable markers for researches investigating genetic diversity and population structure of P. steinenii, which provide us with clues to dispersion, evolution and ecology of this species.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.273-279
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• 2021

Branchinotogluma segonzaci (Miura and Desbruyères, 1995) occurs in hydrothermal vent fields of the southwestern Pacific Ocean. We morphologically compared B. segonzaci from the North Fiji Basin with the original description from the Lau Basin and a subsequent study of specimens from the Manus Basin. The main characteristics of all B. segonzaci populations were similar having 21 segments, 10 pairs of elytra, cylindrical-shaped anterior lobes, and ventral papillae on segment 12 and ventral lamellae on segments 13-17 in males. However, the specimens from the North Fiji Basin had rounded to sub-renifrom elytra rather than oval in the original description. Additionally, we newly obtained 11 cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA barcodes from the North Fiji Basin and Tonga Arc populations and compared them with known COI DNA barcodes of Branchinotogluma species. Thirteen sequences of B. segonzaci showed 0.0-1.07% intraspecific variation and formed two clades in the COI neighbor-joining tree, whereas the interspecific variation among Branchinotogluma species was 8.19-22.4%. The results of this study contribute to biogeographic studies of B. segonzaci and the evolution of polynoid scale worms in chemosynthesis-based ecosystems.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.33-36
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• 2019

The marine interstitial annelid Pharyngocirrus uchidai(Sasaki, 1981) has been only known from Japan. In this study, we report the occurrence of P. uchidai for the first time in four localities along the eastern coast of Korea: Bukmyeon, Gamchu, Gase, and Oeongchi. Species identification was confirmed by comparison of DNA barcoding sequences with morphological examination from the type locality, Oshoro, Japan. We generated a total of 25 sequences of a partial segment (580 bp) of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI), representing five specimens from each locality. Maximum intra-specific variation was 1.2% in terms of Kimura two-parameter (K2P) distance, observed between two individuals each from Gamchu (i.e., between two specimens from the single locality), Gamchu and Oeongchi, Gamchu and Oshoro, and Oeongchi and Oshoro. On the other hand, an identical haplotype was found in all the five localities, substantiating our species identification for the Korean populations. Inter-specific K2P distance between P. uchidai and an unidentified Saccocirrus sp. from Canada (based on public database entries) was 22.4-23.4%.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2021

Soldanellonyx monardi Walter, 1919, a halacarid species is newly recorded from South Korea, as the second member for the freshwater halacarid mites in Korea after S. chappuisi Walter, 1917 reported from Gossi-gul Cave, a limestone cave at Yeongwol in 1968. It was collected from three wells in the southeastern part of Korean peninsula this year. Korean specimens are well accorded with S. monardi s. str. in having telofemur I less than 1.5 times longer than wide, two spiniform setae on the ventral side of tibia I, relatively longer anterior dorsal plate (slightly longer than its width and about half the length of posterior dorsal plate), and the posterior epimeral plates lacking a dorsal seta. Based on the Korean specimens, a brief table for the morphological differences between adult females and deutonymphs are provided, which shows a tendency of rather consistent increment according to growth in the number of spiniform dorsal setae on telofemora and genua of legs I and II, the number of perigenital setae, and the number of genital acetabula. In this paper, detailed redescription and a brief table for the morphological differences between adult females and deutonymphs of S. monardi are provided.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2021

To provide better taxonomic information of the genus Nectoneanthes, the two DNA barcode regions of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences of Nectoneanthes oxypoda and N. uchiwa were determined. In addition, the respective sequences of four nereidid species closely related to Nectoneanthes were retrieved from GenBank for comparison and to estimate intra- and inter-specific genetic distances. The aligned sequence lengths of COI and 16S rDNA were 570 bp and 419 bp long, respectively. The mean intraspecific variation in both markers was less than 1% in all species except for that in COI of H. diadroma (1.87%). The mean interspecific variation between N. oxypoda and N. uchiwa was 12.02% regarding COI and 1.85% regarding 16S rDNA. In contrast, the mean interspecific variation between species of other genera was comparably higher(i.e., genus Perinereis: 20.5% in COI and 8.3% in 16S rDNA; genus Hediste: 13.18% in COI and 2.64% in 16S rDNA), compared with that between the two Nectoneanthes species. This result indicated that these Nectoneanthes species are genetically more closely related than other congeneric species of different genera. The DNA barcoding information on Nectoneanthes species generated in this study provides valuable insights for further biodiversity studies on nereidid species.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.205-211
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• 2021

This study investigates the morphological and skull characteristics of the Siberian weasel Mustela sibirica quelpartis from the Jeju Island, South Korea. A total of 26 roadkill specimens (22 males and 4 females) were collected from October 2012 to April 2016. All collected specimens were examined for morphological characteristics, but only 19 specimens (16 males and 3 females) were in a good enough condition to process for skull measurements. This study showed no significant differences in ear length between male and female (p>0.05), and significant differences were found in head-body length, tail length (TL), and hind-food length (p<0.05). Both the male and female of M. s. quelpartis were larger in its external characteristics except for TL than M. s. coreanus living in the mainland of South Korea. M. s. quelpartis males have a smaller skull size than their female counterparts. In general, both male and female M. s. quelpartis showed external characteristics in line with the Island Rule. The findings of this study are important in order to shed more light on the evolutionary mechanism of small mammals living on the Jeju Island.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.347-353
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• 2020

Although sea slaters Ligia have a significant role in rocky shore habitats, their taxonomic entities have not been clearly understood. In this study, we investigated whether genetic variation inferred from a nuclear genetic marker, namely amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), would conform to that of a mitochondrial DNA marker. Using both the mitochondrial DNA marker and the AFLP marker amplified by the six selective primer sets, we analyzed 95 Ligia individuals from eight locations from East Asia. The direct sequencing of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene revealed three distinct genetic lineages, with 9.8-11.7 Kimura 2-parameter genetic distance. However, the results of AFLP genotyping analysis with 691 loci did not support those of mitochondrial DNA, and revealed an unexpectedly high proportion of shared polymorphisms among lineages. The inconsistency between the two different genetic markers may be explained by difference in DNA evolutionary history, for example inheritance patterns, effective population size, and mutation rate. The other factor is a possible genomic island of speciation, in that most of the genomic parts are shared among lineages, and only a few genomic regions have diverged.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.382-386
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• 2020

In this study, Prionospio depauperata Imajima, 1990 is newly reported in Korean fauna. Prionospio depauperata can be distinguished from other relatives by the four pairs of branchiae which are pinnate on chaetigers 2 and 5, and apinnate on chaetigers 3 and 4; caruncle extending to the end of chaetiger 2; and moderate dorsal crest present on chaetigers 7-13. The morphological diagnosis of P. depauperata are provided with the photographs of four Prionospio species. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1), 16S ribosomal DNA (16S rDNA), and the nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences of four Prionospio species from Korean waters, P. depauperata Imajima, 1990, P. japonica Okuda, 1935, P. krusadensis Fauvel, 1929, and P. membranacea Imajima, 1990, were determined for the first time. The inter-specific genetic distances among the congeners of four Prionospio species were 22.3-29.6% in CO1, 10.5-25.0% in 16S rDNA, and 0.3-3.6% in 18S rDNA.