We characterized the complete mitochondrial genome of Squilloides leptosquilla (Brooks, 1886) collected from the southern waters of Korea, which is newly recorded into the Korean carcinological fauna. The total mitochondrial genome length of S. leptosquilla was 16,376 bp. This circular DNA encodes 13 proteins, two ribosomal RNAs, and 22 transfer RNAs, as well as a putative control region. Compared with other decapod crustacean mitochondrial genomes, the overall A + T content was relatively high (71.1%) as those among other stomatopod species. Nine and four protein-coding genes are encoded on the H-strand and on the L-strand, respectively. The short non-coding region (210 bp) between tRNA(Glu) and tRNA(Phe) may be the good candidate as the molecular marker to discriminate S. leptosequilla from other stomatopods.
Keywords: Barcode; crustacean; mantis shrimp; mitochondrial genome.