The African cryptic clades of the toothed barnacle Chthamalus dentatus (Chthamaloidea, Chthamalidae)

We show in this study that the population of Chthamalus dentatus along the Atlantic coast of Africa displays a genetic division into four clades, namely: the South African, the Namibian-Angolan, the Cameroonian and the West African clade. This division is based on four genes–two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the control region (D-loop), with the addition of two nuclear genes, the elongation factor (EF1) and the sodium-potassium ATPase (NaKA). The unique morphological feature of C. dentatus–dentated sutures between the shell compartments–is apparent in the specimens of the four clades, thus we define these clades as cryptic species of C. dentatus. The present work extends previous studies on the population genetics of C. dentatus that were based on COI only, by adding more genes and expanding the range of collection sites. In addition, the availability of new specimens from West Africa also enabled us to increase the northern limit of this species’ range to include Northern Senegal.