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Phylogeography of the Ogulin cave sponge Eunapius subterraneus Sket i Velikonja, 1984 from the Dinaric karst

The Ogulin cave sponge Eunapius subterraneus, Sket & Velikonja, 1984 (Porifera, Spongillidae), is thus far the only known stygobitic (obligatory subterranean) sponge in the world. It is found only in a small region near the town of Ogulin and, remarkably, in a sump 1392 meters below ground in the Lukina jama – Trojama cave system on Mt. Velebit. Two subspecies are known: the more widely distributed E. s. subterraneus and E. s. mollisparspanis, which is described from a single cave (Rudnica VI), within the range of E. s. subterraneus. We used an intron region of ATP Synthetase Subunit β (ATPS β) gene as a molecular marker. The sponges were sampled throughout the entire range in order to clarify systematic relationships and infer phylogeographical structure of this species. We were interested in (i) the phylogenetic relationship of the Rudnica VI subspecies to populations of the other subspecies, (ii) the phylogenetic relationship of a disjunct population from Lukina jama - Trojama system to the sponges from the main range and (iii) the overall phylogeographic structure and haplotype diversity of this endangered karst species.

cave fauna; Ogulin cave sponge; phylogeny; phylogeography

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