Paraphyly and evolutionary independent lineages in Gymnotus pantherinus (Gymnotiformes: Gymnotidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Coastal Streams

Autor(es)

Baroni, Sabrina ^[1] ; Damasceno, Roberta Pacheco ^[1] ; de Almeida-Toledo, Lurdes Foresti ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Rua Matao, Trav 14, 101, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution; v. 161, AUG 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF), many terrestrial species with broad geographical distributions show high diversity and endemism of intraspecific lineages, as revealed by molecular genetic data. This pattern, however, is less explored in freshwater fishes. Gymnotus pantherinus is an electric fish endemic to the Brazilian coastal drainages that shows a wide distribution, ranging from the states of Bahia to Santa Catarina, an unusual pattern for AF fishes. It has been hypothesized that G. pantherinus is a species complex because distinct morphotypes were described for the species based on morphometric and meristic features. We used mitochondrial and nuclear data to test this hypothesis. Based on phylogenetic inference and multi-locus, multispecies coalescent methods, we identified six independent lineages, flagging them as candidate species. One such lineage is the recently described species G. refugio that is nested within G. pantherinus and renders it paraphyletic, showing it is a species complex. We named G. pantherinus stricto sensu the lineage that includes samples from the type locality (Santos, SP). Our results show that genetic lineages correspond only partially and far exceed the number of previously reported morphotypes. Genetic breaks in the group correspond to landscape features associated with the Serra do Mar mountain range and with riverine dynamics caused by sea level changes during the last glacial maximum. Moreover, we found evidence of river capture events affecting phylogeographic structure in the group. We uncovered an important dimension of diversity in the group and encourage further integration of genetic and phenotypic data. Such integration is a fruitful approach not only to reduce the gap between taxonomy and evolutionary history in Gymnotidae, but also to uncover the real AF biodiversity. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 05/55733-6 - Caracterizacao e evolucao de especies da ictiofauna neotropical: uma abordagem citogenetica e genetico-molecular.
• Beneficiário: Lurdes Foresti de Almeida-Toledo
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 08/51279-7 - Novos estudos sobre a caracterizacao e evolucao de especies da ictiofauna neotropical: uma abordagem citogenetica e genetico-molecular
• Beneficiário: Lurdes Foresti de Almeida-Toledo
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular