DNA barcoding for the hydrothermal vent crab Austinograea species (Crustacea: Bythograeidae) from the North Fiji Basin, Southwestern Pacific Ocean

Abstract

The brachyuran crab Bythograeidae Williams, 1980 is common in hydrothermal vent fields worldwide and has recorded to sixteen species of six genera. In this study, we firstly determined the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) DNA barcodes for the fifth species of Austinograea, A. hourdezi, from hydrothermal vent regions of the North Fiji Basin in southwestern Pacific Ocean. All CO1 DNA barcodes of A. hourdezi were identical. The interspecies variations of three bythograeid genera were 10.9-13.3% for Austinograea, 6.6-15.7% for Bythograea, and 9.7% for Gandalfus. These results would be helpful to understand taxonomy of brachyuran crabs living in hydrothermal vent fields using CO1 DNA barcodes.