Historical biogeography and phylogenomics of Erythrinoidea and integrative taxonomy for the study of the Neotropical genus Hoplerythrinus (Characiformes: Erythrinidae)

Author(s)

Cristhian Camilo Conde Saldaña

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Botucatu. 2022-04-11.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Botucatu
• Defense date: 2022-03-25
• Advisor: Claudio de Oliveira

Abstract

Erythrinoidea is a characiform clade composed of the enigmatic family Tarumaniidae, represented by a single highly-specialized species, Tarumania walkerae, that inhabits isolated pools in the forest floor of central Amazon rainforests, and the geographically widespread family Erythrinidae, which occurs in lentic and lotic habitats in most drainages of Central and South America. Erythrinidae is composed of three extant genera (Erythrinus, Hoplias, and Hoplerythrinus), where species complex had been hypothesized based on remarkable karyotypic variation and uniformity in meristic and morphometric data. Diversity and geographic distribution patterns, as well as ecological aspects of Erythrinoidea, arouse interesting questions concerning to evolutionary diversification of its lineages. Most taxonomic and phylogeographic studies have been focused on Hoplias, however, Erythrinus and Hoplerythrinus are waiting for detailed revisions encompassing their entire distribution. The present work has as the main goal, to investigate biogeographic and chronological patterns of diversification in the superfamily Erythrinoidea and to implement an integrative approach to investigate the diversity and evolutionary history of a particular group within this clade, the genus Hoplerythrinus. Combining data from phylogenomics of ultraconserved elements (UCEs), paleontological (fossil calibrations), biogeographic, and geological sources, we found that Erythrinoidea is estimated to have originated in the Late Cretaceous ca. 80 Ma, with divergence of major clades during the Paleogene ca. 51-31 Ma, and Erythrinidae diversified rapidly after the formation of the transcontinental Amazon River ca. 10 Ma, from eight lineages to at least 28 species today. Diversification patterns in Erythrinoidea are also discussed in light of landscape evolution. On the other hand, integrating DNA barcode, phylogenomics of UCEs, and morphological information provided evidence to investigate the evolutionary history of Hoplerythrinus, and to define this taxon as a geographically widespread monotypic genus in the Neotropical region. Here, we also discussed details about the phenotypic variation and levels of genomic differentiation considering the divergence time and its ecological affinities. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/09767-6 - Phylogenomics analysis and taxonomic review of the Neotropical genus Hoplerythrinus (Characiformes: Erythrinidae)
• Grantee: Cristhian Camilo Conde Saldaña
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate