New record of two marine synchaetid rotifers (Monogononta: Synchaeta) from Korea Author Min, Hee-Min Yang and Gi-Sik mingisik@inha.ac.kr text Journal of Species Research 2022 11 3 174 179 journal article 10.12651/JSR.2022.11.3.174 2713-8615 13139896 Synchaeta vorax Rousselet, 1902 ( Figs. 1B , 2B , 4 ) ffiflṴẠḆḝ ( ljḑ ) Synchaeta vorax : Rousselet, 1902: 408 - 410 . Material examined. Korea , Incheon , Incheon Port ( 37° 27 ʹ 00 ʺ N , 126°39 ʹ 22 ʺ E ), 31 Mar 2021 , Hee-Min Yang. Voucher Number: NIBRIV0000895436 . Diagnosis. Head large and wide. Apical field strongly convex. One tubular antenna on the center of apical field, tip of antenna with tuft. Four long styles present on apical field. Lateral auricles large, directed semi-cau- dally. Two small eyespots located near mastax. Head and trunk distinctly separated by wrinkled neck. Trunk cylindrical, tapered to posterior end. Longitudinal fold present on trunk. Lateral antennae at posterior third of trunk. Foot short, 60 - 65 μm in length. Pedal glands symmetrical and approximately the same length as the foot. Two small, separated toes on the foot. Total length 410 - 460 μm. Trophi virgate. Rami with frontal hook and several distinct teeth. One spine on middle of frontal hook. Each side of ramus teeth separated into two groups: three to four teeth on apical group and two teeth on basal group. Hypopharynx wide and crown-shaped. Manubrium straight and simple, with broad lamella. Fulcrum thick, machete-shaped. Fig. 3. SEM image of the trophi of Synchaeta grimpei . A. ventral view. B. manubrium, lateral view. C. incus, ventral view. Scale bar: 50 μm. Fig. 4. SEM image of the trophi of Synchaeta vorax . A. ventral view. B. manubrium, lateral view. C. rami teeth, dorsal view. Scale bars: A, B: 40 μm, C: 30 μm. Table 1. Genetic distance of Synchaeta grimpei from Korea and Germany (p-distance).
No. Species GenBank No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reference
1 Synchaeta grimpei ON038411 This study
2 Synchaeta grimpei ON038412 0.6 This study
3 Synchaeta grimpei ON038413 0.6 0.0 This study
4 Synchaeta grimpei ON038414 0.8 1.4 1.4 This study
5 Synchaeta grimpei ON038415 0.8 1.4 1.4 1.7 This study
6 Synchaeta grimpei MK905783 0.4 1.0 1.0 1.2 0.8 Wilke et al . (2020)
7 Synchaeta grimpei MK905784 0.4 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.4 Wilke et al . (2020)
8 Synchaeta grimpei MK905785 0.4 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.0 Wilke et al . (2020)
Table 2. Genetic distance of Synchaeta vorax from Korea and Germany (p-distance).
No. Species GenBank No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Reference
1 Synchaeta vorax ON038419 This study
2 Synchaeta vorax ON038420 0.6 This study
3 Synchaeta vorax ON038421 0.6 0.0 This study
4 Synchaeta vorax ON038422 0.8 1.1 1.1 This study
5 Synchaeta vorax ON038423 0.8 1.1 1.1 0.0 This study
6 Synchaeta vorax MK905832,33,35 11.9 12.2 12.2 12.1 12.1 Wilke et al . (2020)
7 Synchaeta vorax MK905834 12.1 12.4 12.4 12.2 12.2 0.2 Wilke et al . (2020)
8 Synchaeta vorax MK905836,39 11.3 11.6 11.6 11.4 11.4 1.0 1.1 Wilke et al . (2020)
9 Synchaeta vorax MK905837 11.3 11.6 11.6 11.4 11.4 0.6 0.8 0.3 Wilke et al . (2020)
10 Synchaeta vorax MK905838 11.3 11.6 11.6 11.4 11.4 1.0 1.1 0.3 0.3 Wilke et al . (2020)
11 Synchaeta vorax MK905840,41 11.1 11.4 11.4 11.3 11.3 1.1 1.3 0.2 0.5 0.5 Wilke et al . (2020)
12 Synchaeta vorax MK905842 11.6 11.9 11.9 11.8 11.8 1.0 1.1 0.6 0.3 0.6 0.8 Wilke et al . (2020)
Distribution. Cosmopolitan. Remarks. The external morphological characteristics of Korean S. vorax specimens were most similar to the original description by Rousselet (1902) . The trunk shape of the Korean specimens and the original description were slender and cylindrical, whereas those of Lie-Pettersen (1905) and Wilke et al. (2019) were plump and wineglass-shaped. In terms of trophi morphology, several variations were recorded in rami teeth. Wilke et al. (2019) reported that S. vorax has no distinct teeth and only a serrated plate. However, descriptions from Rousselet (1902) , Lie-Pettersen (1905) , and Arndt et al. (1990) indicated that the rami teeth of S. vorax possess several distinct teeth. The rami of the Korean specimen contained one frontal hook and distinctly large teeth. The teeth are divided into two groups as indicated in the ‘Diagnosis’ section, with each ramus containing three to four teeth on the apical group and two teeth on the basal group. The rami teeth formula of the Korean specimen was similar to that of S. curvata Lie-Pettersen, 1905 , described by Arndt et al. (1990). However, the two species are clearly distinguished by morphological characteristics such as the tubular apical antenna and the number of eyespots. Synchaeta vorax was recorded as a eurythermal species in a previous study ( Hollowday, 2002 ), and the Korean specimen was collected from November to March, at a water temperature of 5 - 10℃ and a salinity of 26.0 - 29.3‰. Molecular analysis. Partial COI sequences were obtained from five specimens . The intra-specific genetic distances were 0.0 - 1.1% within the Korean population (657 bp) (GenBank accession numbers: ON038419 - ON038423). The genetic distances between the Korean and German S. vorax specimens were 11.1 - 12.4% (621 bp, Table 2 ) (GenBank accession numbers: MK905832 - MK905842) ( Wilke et al. , 2020 ). These genetic distances were unusually large within the same species, even if they were in different population. Recently, as molecular analysis has been introduced to the rotifer research, cryptic species have been identified in various species ( GarcÍa-Morales and ElÍas-Gutiérrez, 2013 ; Obertegger et al., 2014 ; Papakostas et al., 2016 ; Kordbacheh et al., 2017 ; 2018 ). Most of the cryptic species are morphologically indistinguishable and have large genetic distance. In this regard, we reconfirmed the external and trophi characteristics of the Korean S. vorax specimens, and found no significant dif- ference from the previously known morphological characteristics. For the accurate assessment of biodiversity, the problem of cryptic species must be solved, and for this, it is considered that additional studies on biogeographical, ecological, and reproductive are needed in addition to morphological analysis.