Substantial genetic divergence between morphologically indistinguishable populations of Fasciola suggests the possibility of cryptic speciation

The liver flukes, Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica, are considered to be sister species and between them present a major threat worldwide to livestock production. In this study sequence data have been employed from informative regions of the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of over 200 morphologically F. hepatica-like or F. gigantica-like flukes from Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to assess genetic diversity. Evidence is presented for the existence of four well-separated clades: African gigantica-like flukes, Indian gigantica-like flukes, European hepatica-like flukes and African high-altitude hepatica-like flukes. Application of the Biological Species Concept to trematodes is problematic; however, the degree of separation between these groups was sufficient for them to be considered as distinct species using the four times rule for speciation.