Abstract

This study was initiated to investigate the phylogenetic relationships between selected species of the genus and representatives of the closely related genera, Euastacus, Geocharax and Paranephrops. Independent numerical cladistic analysis of allozyme and morphological data sets provided evidence supporting the monophyly of the genus Cherax and, in contrast to earlier studies, suggest that Cherax and Geocharax share a common ancestor that is not shared with either Euastacus or Paranephrops. The high degree of congruence between the phylogenies estimated from the allozyme and morphological data supports both the utility of the numerical cladistic approach and the efficacy of these different types of data for phylogeny estimation in freshwater crayfish. The finding that morphological data can be validly used to define genera and establish phylogenetic relationships at this level contrasts markedly with the unreliability of this type of data for delimiting species within the genus Cherax. A critical review of earlier investigations of phylogenetic relationships amongst parastacid genera revealed methodological deficiencies sufficient to lead to unreliable interpretations of the phylogenetic history of these crayfish. The implications of the findings of this study with respect to the monophyly and zoogeography of the parastacids are also discussed.

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