Revisión taxonómica de las especies ibéricas de cangrejos ermitaños (DECAPODA: ANOMURA: PAGUROIDEA) y sus relaciones filogenéticas

Traditionally, the study of hermit crabs has been based on the description and comparison of morphological characters that are sometimes difficult to assess, which in many cases has led to difficulties in clearly delimiting species. The morphological complexity of the group (where practically all body appendages are considered characters with taxonomic value), the intrinsic variability of each species, as well as their characteristic body asymmetry, has resulted in many cases in unclear delimitations of taxa, discrepancies about the validity of certain taxonomic categories and, in general, a knowledge about the group that still needs to be further clarified. The combination of morphological studies with molecular phylogeny analyses provides a more global view of the kinship relationships between the different species and allows us to review the relative importance of certain characters used in their delimitation. This work is structured in such a way that, firstly, specific results obtained from the revision of all the available specimens are presented. This is followed by the more general studies, which include an important part or the totality of the species studied. This structure is reflected in the form of sections, in order to facilitate access to the specific chapters that comprise them. The first section includes three chapters, the first two dedicated to the morphological study of several new species of the genus Diogenes and the redescription of Diogenes pugilator, as well as the description of a new species of the genus Pagurus from northwestern Africa. The second section focuses on the taxonomic revision of the genus Anapagurus, from an integrative perspective of the different sources of information, mainly morphology and molecular characterisation of the species. The third section is devoted to updating the list of hermit crabs from the Iberian Peninsula and nearby areas. All these species are included in an annotated checklist, that is complemented with distribution data and references, as well as the study of their phylogenetic relationships. The analysis includes 374 new sequences from a total of 54 Iberian species, 8 from neighboring areas and 55 sequences obtained from GenBank for comparison purposes. The information generated specifically for this study is the first molecular information available for 21 of these species, which represents a substantial step forward in the updating of the genetic catalog of this group and therefore in the development of the molecular tools used in the delimitation of species. The fourth and final section focuses on the study of the live colour patterns of Iberian species. These patterns are considered very characteristic and defining of the species in the case of hermit crabs, although the information available so far was generally scarce. A special effort has been made to try to collect live specimens of each species, photograph and draw them. When it was not possible to collect them in vivo, we used existing photographs, where some of the morphological details allowed us to confirm the identity of the species. With all this information, colour plates of 45 species have been produced to accompany their descriptions, where these characteristic patterns have been described, so that this chapter can be considered a proto-guide to field identification. Throughout this study we have been able to see how the taxonomic revision of the different genera has thrown up some questions that only after further revisions have we been able to begin to elucidate. We have also seen how, in the world of hermit crabs, the displacement of species outside their distribution range occurs, although it is not always possible to know if this is happening at present or if they have gone unnoticed, but it is clear that in the future there will be more changes, incorporations and discoveries of new species. This work is, therefore, a great step forward in the knowledge of this group in the Iberian Peninsula and nearby areas, as well as in the clarification of its taxonomy.

Author dc:creator

• Almón Pazos, Bruno

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Cuesta Mariscal, Jose Antonio
• García Raso, José Enrique
• Martín Díaz, María Laura

• Taxonomía
• Filogenia
• Paguroidea
• Zoología
• ADN

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31667

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rodin.uca.es:10498/31667