Mitochondrial Genomes of Three <i>Melampus</i> Species (Ellobiidae; Gastropoda)

<i>Melampus bidentatus</i> was recently divided into three genetically divergent cryptic species: <i>Melampus bidentatus</i>, <i>Melampus jaumei</i>, and <i>Melampus gundlachi</i>. We have assembled and annotated a mitochondrial genome for each of these species. Comparisons with other taxa showed that these three species possess a gene order that is distinct from the conserved gene order found in the six (out of nine available) Ellobiid genera. Among the species with a derived gene order, mean nucleotide divergence over all genes was on average 1.57× higher than among mitogenomes with the conserved gene order. This suggests varying evolutionary rates of mitochondrial genes in this family.