{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T06:00:07Z","timestamp":1771480807543,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":114,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,28]],"date-time":"2023-06-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1687910400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Bologna"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Despite a high species diversity, skates (Rajiformes) exhibit remarkably conservative morphology and ecology. Limited trait variations occur within and between species, and cryptic species have been reported among sister and non-sister taxa, suggesting that species complexes may be subject to stabilising selection. Three sibling species are currently recognised in the Raja miraletus complex: (i) R. miraletus occurring along the Portuguese and Mediterranean coasts, (ii) R. parva in the Central-Eastern Atlantic off West Africa and (iii) R. ocellifera in the Western Indian Ocean off South Africa. In the present study, the genetic variation at mitochondrial and nuclear markers was estimated in the species complex by analysing 323 individuals sampled across most of its geographical distribution area to test the hypothesis that restricted gene flow and genetic divergence within species reflect known climate and bio-oceanographic discontinuities. Our results support previous morphological studies and confirm the known taxonomic boundaries of the three recognised species. In addition, we identified multiple weakly differentiated clades in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean, at least two additional cryptic taxa off Senegal and Angola, a pronounced differentiation of ancient South African clades. The hidden genetic structure presented here may represent a valuable support to species\u2019 conservation action plans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani13132139","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,29]],"date-time":"2023-06-29T00:49:47Z","timestamp":1687999787000},"page":"2139","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["To Be, or Not to Be: That Is the Hamletic Question of Cryptic Evolution in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Raja miraletus Species Complex"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3499-8396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alice","family":"Ferrari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4210-9755","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valentina","family":"Crobe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6627-4053","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita","family":"Cannas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2693-3469","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rob W.","family":"Leslie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Branch Fisheries Management, Department Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cape Town 8018, South Africa"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1428-8124","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabrizio","family":"Serena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology, National Research Council, 91026 Trapani, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8819-0413","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Stagioni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Department Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 61032 Fano, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5398-3942","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Filipe O.","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA) and ARNET-Aquatic Research Network, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4575-3324","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"Golani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel"}]},{"given":"Farid","family":"Hemida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ecole Nationale Sup\u00e9rieure des Sciences de la Mer et de l\u2019Am\u00e9nagement du Littoral, Campus Universitaire de Dely Ibrahim, Algiers 16320, Algeria"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Zaera-Perez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Marine Research, 5817 Bergen, Norway"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0308-1841","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Letizia","family":"Sion","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2529-2535","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pierluigi","family":"Carbonara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"COISPA Technology and Research, 70126 Bari, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6302-649X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabio","family":"Fiorentino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology, National Research Council, 91026 Trapani, Italy"},{"name":"Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 90149 Palermo, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8649-5387","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fausto","family":"Tinti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5513-0086","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessia","family":"Cariani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Harrison, R.G. 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