Comparative mitochondrial genomics of sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps in the genus Synalpheus: Exploring differences between eusocial and non-eusocial species and insights into phylogenetic relationships in caridean shrimps.

The genus Synalpheus is a cosmopolitan clade of marine shrimps found in most tropical regions. Species in this genus exhibit a range of social organizations, including pair-forming, communal breeding, and eusociality, the latter only known to have evolved within this genus in the marine realm. This study examines the complete mitochondrial genomes of seven species of Synalpheus and explores differences between eusocial and non-eusocial species considering that eusociality has been shown before to affect the strength of purifying selection in mitochondrial protein coding genes.