Limited diversity of epibiont bdelloid rotifers and no pattern of codiversification with the highly diverse endemic amphipods of a coastal zone of Lake Baikal

An extreme radiation of hundreds species different groups animals occurred in Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia; among them, amphipods represent one the most remarkable invertebrates with about 350 endemic species. Amphipods host associated epibiont rotifers, and aim study is to explore possibility that bdelloid rotifers living as epibionts on Baikal coevolved their hosts diversified species-specific host–epibiont associations. We sampled 148 individual belonging 16 isolated all bdelloids from discovering only species, Embata parasitica, lives at least six amphipod three families. Similar what known other morphospecies parasitica likely be a complex cryptic suggested by high genetic diversity we found mitochondrial marker sequenced several animals. Yet none divergent lineages seemed or few In addition, nine were lake, increasing area 12