Morphological variation in relation to the taxonomy of the destructor group of the genus Cherax

The present study was directed at clarifying the taxonomy of the destructor group of the genus Cherax. This group was defined by Riek (1969) to include four species: C. destructor Clark, C. albidus Clark, C. davisi Clark and C. esculus Riek. Approximately 1600 specimens representing over 80 localities were examined, including specimens from three outgroup species; C. rotundus, C. punctatus and C. dispar. Variation in 16 metric and 30 multistate characters was analysed by bivariate (analysis of covariance) and multivariate (principal components analysis) techniques. None of the taxonomic analyses supported the distinction of C. davisi or C. esculus from C. destructor, which suggests that the two former species be synonymised with the last. By contrast, C. albidus was found to be morphologically distinct. The pattern and timing of speciation of C. albidus and C. destructor are unclear but may relate to the increase in aridity in inland Australia during the late Tertiary. The analyses also indicated that heterochrony may underly the morphological divergence of these two species.