A morphometric and molecular study of the sea slaters (Crustacea: Isopoda: Ligiidae: Ligia) from Taiwan

• Main Authors: Ming-Ze Wu, 吳明澤
• Other Authors: 施習德
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/cgi-bin/gs32/gsweb.cgi/login?o=dnclcdr&s=id=%22107NCHU5105051%22.&searchmode=basic

碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 生命科學系所 === 107 === The sea slaters (genus Ligia) belong to the family Ligiidae (Crustacea, Malacostracea, Isopoda). Two species, L. exotica and L. taiwanensis, were reported from Taiwan. L. exotica is a wide-spread species distributing over tropical and subtropical zones except Europe. In Taiwan, its habitats include rocky coasts, gravel beach, reefs and harbors. However, L. taiwanensis only inhabits in the strand of hill streams in Hengchun Peninsula, southern Taiwan. A preliminary study, based on the morphological (appendix masculina) and molecular evidence, showed there is another species from the Gangkou River estuary. A further morphological and molecular study (16S rDNA, COI) was conducted to clarify the diversity of Ligia species from Taiwan, and also the geographical distribution of L. taiwanensis. Based on the results, a third Ligia species (named as Ligia sp.) from Taiwan has been confirmed. The body shapes of L. exotica and Ligia sp. are similar, but they can be distinguished by the shape of appendix masculina of males that is supported by the principal components analysis and molecular evidence. Ligia sp. is distributed in Kaohsiung (Chaishan), Ping＜http (Siaoliouciou, Singhai Fishing Harbor and Gangkou River estuary), and Tai＜http (Donghe and Dulan). According to the literature of adjacent regions of Ligia, the species identity of Ligia sp. cannot be confirmed. More related specimens are necessary to be examined to identify the species. In this study, the morphology of specimens of L. exotica agrees with the characters in literature, and the molecular sequences of this study are clustered in the clade of L. exotica in other studies as well, which support the identify of this species. L. taiwanensis is only distributed in Hengchun Peninsula. The northernmost area is the Shuangliou Forest Recreation Area, and the southernmost area is the Sheding Natural Park.