Taxonomic distribution of cryptic diversity among metazoans: not so homogeneous after all.

ABSTRACT: Cryptic diversity plagues estimates of biodiversity, conservation efforts and attempts to control diseases and invasive species. Here, we re-visit a decade-old assessment of whether or not cryptic species are homogeneously reported among higher metazoan taxa. We compiled information from an extensive survey of the literature to recover all reports of cryptic species among metazoans. After correcting for currently known species richness and research effort per taxon, we find that cryptic species are over-reported in some taxa and under-reported in others. Although several taxa showing either a lack or an excess of reported cryptic species were poorly studied invertebrate groups, we found that cryptic species were over-reported in amphibians, reptiles and crustaceans, all relatively well-stu

SUBMITTER: Perez-Ponce de Leon G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5014032 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature