Cospeciation

Cospeciation is a form of coevolution in which the speciation of one species dictates speciation of another species and is most commonly studied in host-parasite relationships. In the case of a host-parasite relationship, if two hosts of the same species get within close proximity of each other, parasites of the same species from each host are able to move between individuals and mate with the parasites on the other host.^[1] However, if a speciation event occurs in the host species, the parasites will no longer be able to "cross over" because the two new host species no longer mate and, if the speciation event is due to a geographic separation, it is very unlikely the two hosts will interact at all with each other. The lack of proximity between the hosts ultimately prevents the populations of parasites from interacting and mating. This can ultimately lead to speciation within the parasite.^[2]

According to Fahrenholz's rule, first proposed by Heinrich Fahrenholz in 1913, when host-parasite cospeciation has occurred, the phylogenies of the host and parasite come to mirror each other. In host-parasite phylogenies, and all species phylogenies for that matter, perfect mirroring is rare. Host-parasite phylogenies can be altered by host switching, extinction, independent speciation, and other ecological events, making cospeciation harder to detect.^[3] However, cospeciation is not limited to parasitism, but has been documented in symbiotic relationships like those of gut microbes in primates.^[4]