Molecular phylogeny of Eastern Pacific porcelain crabs, genera Petrolisthes and Pachycheles, based on the mtDNA 16S rDNA sequence: phylogeographic and systematic implications.

Porcelain crabs, genera Petrolisthes and Pachycheles, are diverse and abundant members of the eastern Pacific near-shore decapod crustacean community. Morphology-based taxonomic analyses of these crabs have determined groupings of affiliated species, but phylogenetic relationships remain unknown. We used sequence data from the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene of 46 species of eastern Pacific porcelain crabs to perform phylogenetic analyses by distance and parsimony methods. Our results are used to compare the taxonomic significance of morphological and molecular characters, to examine sequence divergence rates of crab 16S rRNA genes, and to analyze the phylogeographic history of these crabs. Our phylogenetic trees indicate that the genus Petrolisthes is divided into two main clades, reflecting morphological features. One clade contains primarily tropical species, and the other contains species from throughout the eastern Pacific, as well as species in the genera Allopetrolisthes and Liopetrolisthes. Phylogenetic trees of Pachycheles suggest an antitropical distribution; north and south temperate species form one clade and tropical species form a second clade. Sequence divergence rates of the 16S rRNA gene from three pairs of geminate species can be used to date divergence times, and we discuss porcelain crab phylogeographic patterns in relation to paleogeographic events.