Using Species Groups to Approach the Large and Taxonomically Unresolved Freshwater Fish Family Nemacheilidae (Teleostei: Cypriniformes)

Large animal families with unresolved taxonomy are notoriously difficult to handle with respect to their biodiversity, systematics, and evolutionary history. We approach a large and taxonomically unresolved family of freshwater fishes (Nemacheilidae, >600 species) by proposing, on the basis of mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-01, Vol.11 (2), p.175
Main Authors: Dvořák, Tomáš, Šlechtová, Vendula, Bohlen, Jörg
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Biodiversity
Biogeography
Cytochrome
Datasets
Evolution
evolutionary history
freshwater fish
Genera
Genes
Genetic markers
Hypotheses
Laboratories
Miocene
Mitochondria
Mitochondrial DNA
molecular marker
Morphology
Nemacheilidae
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Pigmentation
pigmentation pattern
Range extension
Rare species
systematics
Taxonomy
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Summary:Large animal families with unresolved taxonomy are notoriously difficult to handle with respect to their biodiversity, systematics, and evolutionary history. We approach a large and taxonomically unresolved family of freshwater fishes (Nemacheilidae, >600 species) by proposing, on the basis of morphologic data, a species group within the family and study its phylogeny with conclusions regarding its diversity, taxonomy, and biogeographic history. Phylogenetic analyses of two mitochondrial and three nuclear genes of 139 specimens, representing about 46 species (17 candidate species from the proposed species-group, plus 29 comparative species), revealed that the proposed species group does not form a distinct monophyletic lineage, but that the candidate and comparative species mixed in three different lineages. However, the results revealed more than 20% of undescribed species within the ingroup and showed that species do not cluster according to the presently recognised genera. At least one of the genetic clades shows signs of an eastward range expansion during the second half of Miocene from north India via Myanmar into Laos, western China, and western Thailand. We conclude that the approach of picking monophyletic lineages to study biodiversity, systematics, and evolutionary history helps to open the door to large animal families.
ISSN:2079-7737
2079-7737
DOI:10.3390/biology11020175