Thursday, February 9, 2012

[Ichthyology • 1999] Sulawesi Coelacanth | Latimeria menadoensis • A new species of coelacanth: genetic and morphological evidence



Sulawesi Coelacanth Latimeria menadoensis

Abstract  
To test the assumption of the existence of a possible new population of coelacanth in Indonesia, we sequenced the mitochondrial DNA from cytochrome b and 12s rDNA genes, and described the morphological features of the specimen discovered on July 1998. Significant differences in base sequences revealed that the Comorean and the Indonesian coelacanth belong to distinct populations. Estimation of divergence time, high transition-transversion ratios,  preponderance of third position silent substitution, strong  morphological differentiation and geographical isolation led us to consider that the Indonesian coelacanth is a new species, Latimeria menadoensis n. sp., closely related to L. chalumnae.  

Keywords: coelacanth  /  new  species  /  cytochrome  6  /  12s  rDNA  /  Indonesia 







Holder, Mark T., Mark V. Erdmann, Thomas P. Wilcox, Roy L. Caldwell, and David M. Hillis (1999). "Two living species of coelacanths?". Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America 96 (22): 12616–12620. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.96.22.12616.
Pouyaud, L., S. Wirjoatmodjo, I. Rachmatika, A. Tjakrawidjaja, R. Hadiaty, and W. Hadie (1999). "Une nouvelle espèce de coelacanthe: preuves génétiques et morphologiques". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des sciences Paris, Sciences de la vie / Life Sciences 322 (4): 261–267. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0764-4469(99)80061-4