Population genetic structure of Onychostoma lepturum on Hainan Island was investigated based on mitochondrial CR + cyt b region in 63 specimens collected from four populations. Population analyses indicated significant genetic structure (FST = 0.749) and displayed a significant relationship between phylogeny and geography (NST = 0.750 and GST = 0.140). Thirty-one mtDNA haplotypes were classified into four lineages, and these lineages had an almost allopatric distribution. The results of a statistical dispersal-vicariance analysis suggest that the ancestral populations were distributed widely on Hainan Island, and the rising of the central mountainous area of Hainan Island, the Wuzhi and Yinggeling Mountain Range, separated these four drainages into independent lineages. According to a spatial analysis of molecular variance analysis, we divided these populations into three units: ND, CH and WQ + LS, running into Qiongzhou Strait, the Gulf of Tokin and the South China Sea, respectively. According to our study, the exposure of straits and shelf under water retreat gave chances for population dispersion during the glaciations.
Keywords: Hainan Island; Onychostoma lepturum; S-DIVA; phylogeography.