Taxonomical analysis on subspecies of Coreocarabus fraterculus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) by molecular genetics from Korea

This study was conducted to determine if molecular genetics would confirm the various subspecies within the species Coreocarabus fraterculus in Korea. In the Korean peninsula, a total of eight subspecies of C. fraterculus have been recognized based on external morphology, and they are morphologically very similar and difficult to identify. In this study, we examined the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene of four subspecies inhabiting Korea, including Palgong-san, Deogyu-san, Jiri-san, and 10 other locations. Based on the ND5 sequences, the phylogenetic history of the collected individuals was reconstructed using Neighbor-Joining, Maximum Likelihood, and Maximum Parsimony trees. All the three phylogenetic trees confirmed the occurrence of four groups in Korea corresponding to four subspecies. •In Korea, eight subspecies of the species Coreocarabus fraterculus have been reported.•In this study, the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene of four subspecies inhabiting Korea was investigated.•The phylogenetic trees are provided based on the mitochondrial ND5.