Two complete mitochondrial genomes of the barnacle Linnaeus, 1758 (Scalpellomorpha, Lepadidae) implying the possibility of cryptic speciation.

The barnacle Linnaeus, 1758 (Scalpellomorpha, Lepadidae) is a worldwide distributed species. For investigating its genetic diversity in the northwest Pacific, two complete mitochondrial genomes were determined and analyzed. The lengths of the two complete mitogenomes were 15,708 bp and 15,703 bp, respectively. Both of them contained typical 37 genes with an identical order to Linnaeus, 1767 and Darwin, 1851 mitogenome. Except for and , 11 protein-coding genes (PCGs) started with an ATN initiation codon (ATA, ATG, ATC, and ATT). Twelve PCGs were terminated with TAA or TAG stop codon, whereas possessed an incomplete termination codon (T-). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that and clustered together, and then with . The distinct genetic distances (0.17) based on concatenated sequence of 13 PCGs between the two mitogenomes of suggest the existence of cryptic speciation. Additional samples from multiple localities should be collected and analyzed to deepen the understanding of cryptic diversity within the northwest Pacific.