Genetic diversity in the Alpine flatworm <i>Crenobia alpina</i>

Abstract

Abstract. The freshwater flatworm Crenobia alpina (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Planariidae) lives almost exclusively in cold springs and crenal streams and possesses only limited dispersal ability. In this study fragments of the COI and 18S rRNA genes were used to estimate genetic divergences among 37 C. alpina populations from the European Alps. Phylogenetic analyses revealed five geographically and genetically distinct groups and at least 10 distinct lineages of C. alpina across the European Alps. Our study suggests that C. alpina represents a complex of numerous cryptic species. Speciation (allopatric and/or sympatric) may have been facilitated by the orogenetic activity of the Alps and the high habitat specificity.

Evaluation ofCrenobia alpinaandCrenobia montenigrinafrom Parâng Mountains (Carpathians, Romania) according to the morphological and biological concepts of species

“…Crenobia alpina (Dana, 1766) is a freshwater flatworm with a limited dispersal ability which lives almost exclusively in cold springs and headwaters of mountainous areas, distributed in Europe and Turkey (Brändle et al 2007, Brändle et al 2017, Sluys 2022).…”