Mitochondrial DNA genome evidence for the existence of a third divergent lineage in the western Atlantic Ocean for the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

• Published in: Journal of fish biology Vol. 99; no. 1; pp. 275 - 282
• Main Authors: Laurrabaquio‐Alvarado, Nadia Sandoval, Díaz‐Jaimes, Píndaro, Hinojosa‐Álvarez, Silvia, Blanco‐Parra, Maria del Pilar, Adams, Douglas H., Pérez‐Jiménez, Juan Carlos, Castillo‐Géniz, J. Leonardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-07-2021; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: bull sharks; Carcharhinus leucas; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; genetic divergence; Genomes; Marine fishes; Mitochondrial DNA; mitogenomes; phylogeography; Sharks; Caribbean Sea; genetic divergence; mitogenomes; bull sharks; phylogeography
• ISSN: 0022-1112; 1095-8649
• DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14698

We report for the first time a highly divergent lineage in the Caribbean Sea for the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) based on the analysis of 51 mitochondrial DNA genomes of individuals collected in the western North Atlantic. When comparing the mtDNA control region obtained from the mitogenomes to sequences reported previously for Brazil, the Caribbean lineage remained highly divergent. These results support the existence of a discrete population in Central America due to a phylogeographic break separating the Caribbean Sea from the western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and South America.