Phylogenetic and morphological analyses of Japanese Aquarius water strider, with a new synonym

The genus Aquarius, of the subfamily Gerrinae, was formerly divided into two species and one subspecies in Japan (A. paludum paludum, A. paludum amamiensis and A. elongatus, respectively). Aquarius haliplous Yasunaga et al. 2018 has recently been described as a new species, which occurs in brackish waters of Nagasaki Prefecture and is found sympatrically with the widely distributed species, A. p. paludum. However, they are considered to be speciated, with no cross-breeding. In this study, molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses were undertaken using the mitochondrial DNA COI (529 bp) and nuclear DNA histone H3 (314 bp) gene regions to investigate the genetic and morphological differentiation in the genus Aquarius, including A. haliplous, throughout Japan (including the islands). The results show that, unlike A. p. paludum, A. p. amamiensis and A. haliplous, A. elongatus displays substantial genetic differentiation. Considering that, although morphological differences exist in the antennae of A. p. paludum and A. p. amamiensis, A. haliplous has no clear genetic or morphological difference from A. p. paludum, and hence cannot be classified as a distinct species. Therefore, we propose that A. haliplous be synonymized with A. paludum.