Phylogenetic Position of the Barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria Linnaeus, 1758 from the Persian Gulf

Chelonibia testudinaria is a globally widespread epibiont barnacle. Previous phylogenetic studies have shown that specimens of this species positioned in three separate clades. One clade contains specimens of the Eastern Pacific, one clade contains specimens of the West and East Atlantic, and one clade contains specimens of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. In the present study, we addressed the phylogenetic position of specimens of C. testudinaria from the Persian Gulf using the mitochondrial COX1gene. The results show that specimens of the Persian Gulf cluster with specimens of Southeast Asia from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore as well as Japan in a supported clade. The widespread distribution of this species in the Indo-West Pacific seems to have been facilitated by sea turtles.