| Cryptic species are numerous in the marine environment. The brittle star Ophioderma longicauda is composed of six mitochondrial lineages, encompassing brooders, which form a monophyletic group, and broadcasters, from which the brooders are derived. To clarify the species limits within O. longicauda, we compared the reproductive status of the sympatric lineages L1 and L3 (defined after sequencing a portion of the mitochondrial gene COI) during the month of May in Greece. In addition, we genotyped a nuclear marker, intron i51. Each L3 female was brooding, whereas all L1 specimens displayed full gonads, suggesting temporal pre-zygotic isolation between brooders and broadcasters. Statistical differences were found among lineages in morphology and bathymetric... |
