L. Bachmann et al., GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION OF THE MILLIPEDE PYCNOTROPIS-EPICLYSMUS INHABITING SEASONALLY INUNDATED AND NON-FLOODED AMAZONIAN FORESTS, Journal of zoological systematics and evolutionary research, 36(1-2), 1998, pp. 65-70
The millipede Pycnotropis epiclysmus Hoffman, 1995 (Diplopoda: Polydes
mida: Platyrhacidae) is frequently found in Central Amazonian white- a
nd mixed-water inundation forests along the Solimoes-Amazon River near
Manaus, Brazil. It also inhabits non-flooded disturbed forest areas a
djacent to this river. Populations from both biotopes were genetically
studied. The specific pPeP172 satellite DNA family identified in P. e
piclysmus has been analyzed in order to elucidate the systematic rank
of morphologically indistinguishable individuals from the different ha
bitat types. Nucleotide sequence data, sequence variability and copy n
umber estimates of the pPeP172 satellite DNA do not discriminate the r
espective populations into genetically different ecotypes. The study o
f enzyme variability, however, revealed genotypic differences among th
e three populations: the populations from two geographically more dist
ant inundation forests are genetically rather similar; and the geograp
hically closer populations, one found in a non-flooded and the other i
n an inundation forest, have a genetic distance which is of similar ma
gnitude to that of the two geographically more distant populations. Th
e genetic data suggest that individuals from different habitats belong
to populations of a single species. Genotypic structuring among and w
ithin local populations indicates processes of genetic differentiation
which can be the result of the migration ability of this millipede.