Mechanisms of speciation, isolation, and maintenance of species diversity in Japanese salamanders

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26870320
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Evolutionary biology; Biodiversity/Systematics
• Research Institution: National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Yoshikawa Natsuhiko 独立行政法人国立科学博物館, 分子生物多様性研究資料センター, 特定非常勤研究員 (60726892)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 有尾両生類 / 生殖的隔離 / 種分化 / 交雑 / 系統地理

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We studied taxonomy, population genetic structure, and phylogeography of salamanders of the genus Onychodactylus in Japan as the aim to reveal speciation process, evolutionary history, and phylogeographic patterns in Japanese salamanders. We developed 18 microsatellite loci for Onychodactylus japonicus and its allies. Two new species of the genus Onychodactylus, O. intermedius and O. fuscus were described from southern part of Tohoku District, eastern Honshu, Japan. We surveyed population genetic structure of Onychodactylus salamanders in southern Tohoku District, where four species are parapatrically or sympatrically distributed, especially focused on the relationships of O. japonicus with O. fuscus (sympatric) and O. intermedius (parapatric) . We detected hybrid zones between parapatric species and low degree of hybridization between sympatric species, and estimated phylogeographic history and evolutionary process of the genus Onychodactylus.

Free Research Field

爬虫両棲類学、動物系統分類学