Sternopygus species relationships, molecular and morphological evidence
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1
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departamento de Ciencias, Unidad de Ecología y Sistemática, Colombia
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2
Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Vertebrados, Brazil
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3
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Brazil
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4
University of Toronto, Scarborough, Biological Science, Canada
Sternopygus is a diverse genus with a geographic range that extends from Argentina to Panamá, and species distributed both east (cis-Andean) and west (trans-Andean) of the Andes. The number of valid species of Sternopygus has changed during the last three decades, with some species assigned to complexes of species based on morphological evidence. Currently nine species are recognized as valid. Four species are part of the aequilabiatus group and exhibit exclusively trans-Andean distribution; four species have cis-Andean distribution, and S. macrurus has both cis and trans-Andean distribution. We collected Sternopygus populations samples along their distribution ranges, and sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial genes to generate phylogenetic and phylogeographic hypotheses. Our results corroborate Sternopygus as monophyletic genus, but disagree on species relationships with previous hypothesis based on morphological evidence. The trans-Andean species form a monophyletic group, sister to a monophyletic clade including all cis-Andean species. In the case of S. macrurus, the populations included in the study do not form a monophyletic group. These results reinforces the hypothesis that the name S. macrurus refers to a complex of cryptic species. Based on molecular and morphological evidence we propose restrict the distribution of S. macrurus to the cis-Andean region, leaving the trans-Andean populations as representatives of undescribed species. Within the aequilabiatus species group, we recognize S. aequilabiatus, S. arenatus and S. pejerraton as valid species and recard S. dariensis as junior synonym of S. aequilabiatus.
Keywords:
biogeography,
Gymnotiformes,
South America,
Sternopygidae,
systematics
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster (but consider for Participant Symposium)
Topic:
Evolution
Citation:
Maldonado Ocampo
J,
Buckup
PA,
Gomes
JA and
Lovejoy
NR
(2012). Sternopygus species relationships, molecular and morphological evidence.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00253
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Received:
30 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Javier Alejandro Maldonado Ocampo, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departamento de Ciencias, Unidad de Ecología y Sistemática, Bogotá, Colombia, maldonadoj@javeriana.edu.co