Phylogeographic Evidence for the Existence of an Ancient Biogeographic Barrier: the Isthmus of Kra Seaway

Biogeographic boundaries are characterised by distinct faunal and floral assemblages restricted on either side, but patterns among groups of taxa often vary and may not be discrete. Historical biogeography as a consequence, while providing crucial insights into the relationship between biological diversity and earth history, has some limitations. Patterns of intraspecific molecular variation, however, may show unambiguous evidence for such historical divides, and can be used to test competing biogeographic hypotheses (often based on the dispersal-vicariance debate). Here, we utilise this method to test the hypothesis that a major biogeographic transition zone between the Sundaic and Indochinese biotas, located just north of the Isthmus of Kra in SE Asia, is the result of Neogene marine transgressions that breached the Isthmus in two locations for prolonged periods of time (>1 million year duration). Phylogeographic analyses of a freshwater decapod crustacean, the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, strongly supports the historical existence of the more northerly postulated seaway. Results presented here highlight the power of utilising intraspecific molecular variation in testing biogeographical hypotheses.