Electric fishes of the genus Sternarchorhynchus, a case of adaptative irradiation in continental scale? A phylogenomic and morphological approach

• Grant number: 18/23883-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: March 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Naercio Aquino Menezes
• Grantee: Luz Eneida Ochoa Orrego
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/19075-9 - Diversity and evolution of Gymnotiformes (Teleostei, Ostariophysi), AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/25992-2 - Testing adaptive radiation hypotheses in South American electric fishes: a phylogenomic approach, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Sternarchorhynchus is an electric fish genus including 32 valid species with some more to be described. Species of this genus inhabit the canals of the rivers, streams, rapids and waterfalls in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as, smaller rivers in Guianas. Morphologically the genus is characterized by an extreme modification in the anatomical complexes of the anterior portion of the head which confer a unique mode of feeding suction aided by mechanical clamping or "grasp-suction". Morphological studies have suggested that this feeding mode represents an evolutionary novelty, and this could be the factor for triggering adaptive radiation in most inclusive clades of the genus. Considering the premise that pattern of adaptive radiation can be detected by comparative phylogenetic analysis, the present proposal aims to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Sternarchorhynchus species based on the concatenation of the data of two complementary methods of new generation sequencing: Exons Capture (approximately 777 nuclear locus and 228,000 nucleotides for Gymnotiformes) and RADseq (Restriction site Associated DNA sequences) coupled with 86 anatomical characters to test the monophyly and to robustly determine the relationships of the valid species of Sternarchorhynchus. These results together with the 3D reconstruction of the head of the Sternarchorhynchus species, will be used to test whether the patterns of genetic and phenotypic diversification in the genus are congruent with the hypothesis of adaptive radiation on a continental scale.

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MELO, BRUNO F.; SIDLAUSKAS, BRIAN L.; NEAR, THOMAS J.; ROXO, FABIO F.; GHEZELAYAGH, AVA; OCHOA, LUZ E.; STIASSNY, MELANIE L. J.; ARROYAVE, JAIRO; CHANG, JONATHAN; FAIRCLOTH, BRANT C.; et al. ccelerated Diversification Explains the Exceptional Species Richness of Tropical Characoid Fishe. Systematic Biology, v. 71, n. 1, p. 78-92, JAN 2022. (14/06853-8, 14/05051-5, 18/24040-5, 15/00691-9, 16/11313-8, 18/23883-9, 14/26508-3)

MELO, BRUNO F.; SIDLAUSKAS, BRIAN L.; NEAR, THOMAS J.; ROXO, FABIO F.; GHEZELAYAGH, AVA; OCHOA, LUZ E.; STIASSNY, MELANIE L. J.; ARROYAVE, JAIRO; CHANG, JONATHAN; FAIRCLOTH, BRANT C.; et al. ccelerated Diversification Explains the Exceptional Species Richness of Tropical Characoid Fishe. Systematic Biology, v. 71, n. 1, p. 78-92, DEC 16 2021. (14/05051-5, 16/11313-8, 15/00691-9, 18/24040-5, 18/23883-9, 14/26508-3, 14/06853-8)

DUTRA, GUILHERME MOREIRA; PEIXOTO, LUIZ ANTONIO WANDERLEY; OCHOA, LUZ ENEIDA; OHARA, WILLIAN MASSAHARU; DE SANTANA, CARLOS DAVID; MENEZES, NAERCIO AQUINO; DATOVO, ALESSIO. A new species of Amazonian bluntnose knifefish Brachyhypopomus (Gymnotiformes: Hypopomidae), with comments on its phylogenetic position. SYSTEMATICS AND BIODIVERSITY, v. 19, n. 4, JAN 2021. (18/05084-1, 18/23883-9, 16/19075-9, 18/09445-9, 11/50282-7)

MATEUSSI, NADAYCA T. B.; MELO, BRUNO F.; OTA, RAFAELA P.; ROXO, FABIO F.; OCHOA, LUZ E.; FORESTI, FAUSTO; OLIVEIRA, CLAUDIO. Phylogenomics of the Neotropical fish family Serrasalmidae with a novel intrafamilial classification (Teleostei: Characiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 153, DEC 2020. (15/00691-9, 14/06853-8, 18/23883-9, 18/24040-5, 16/11313-8, 16/09204-6, 18/20610-1, 14/05051-5, 14/26508-3)

SOUZA, CAMILA S.; SILVA, GABRIEL S. C.; OCHOA, LUZ E.; ROXO, FABIO F.; COSTA-SILVA, GUILHERME J.; FORESTI, FAUSTO; MELO, BRUNO F.; OLIVEIRA, CLAUDIO. Molecular and morphological diversity in species of Kronichthys (Teleostei, Loricariidae) from Atlantic coastal rivers of Brazil. Journal of Fish Biology, v. 98, n. 3, DEC 2020. (18/23883-9, 17/06551-0, 14/26508-3, 16/11313-8)

LUZ E. OCHOA; BRUNO F. MELO; JORGE E. GARCÍA-MELO; JAVIER A. MALDONADO-OCAMPO; CAMILA S. SOUZA; JUAN G. ALBORNOZ-GARZÓN; CRISTHIAN C. CONDE-SALDAÑA; FRANCISCO VILLA-NAVARRO; ARMANDO ORTEGA-LARA; CLAUDIO OLIVEIRA. Species delimitation reveals an underestimated diversity of Andean catfishes of the family Astroblepidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes). Neotropical Ichthyology, v. 18, n. 4, 2020-12-04. (18/09767-6, 17/06551-0, 16/19075-9, 16/11313-8, 18/23883-9, 14/26508-3, 14/06853-8)

SOUZA, CAMILA S.; MELO, BRUNO F.; MATTOX, GEORGE M. T.; OLIVEIRA, CLAUDIO. Phylogenomic analysis of the Neotropical fish subfamily Characinae using ultraconserved elements (Teleostei: Characidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 171, p. 11-pg., 2022-04-04. (17/01970-4, 16/09204-6, 19/04602-1, 18/23883-9, 18/20610-1, 14/26508-3, 16/11313-8, 17/06551-0)

SOUZA, CAMILA S.; MATTOX, GEORGE M. T.; VITA, GEORGE; OCHOA, LUZ E.; MELO, BRUNO F.; OLIVEIRA, CLAUDIO. Molecular species delimitation and description of a new species of Phenacogaster (Teleostei, Characidae) from the southern Amazon basin. ZOOKEYS, v. N/A, n. 1164, p. 21-pg., 2023-05-26. (16/09204-6, 18/20610-1, 14/26508-3, 17/01970-4, 17/06551-0, 18/23883-9, 16/11313-8)