AUTHOR=Chou Tak-Kei , Liu Min-Yun , Liao Te-Yu 

TITLE=Systematics of lionfishes (Scorpaenidae: Pteroini) using molecular and morphological data

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1109655

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1109655

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>Lionfishes (tribe Pteroini) are eye-catching due to their distinct elongated fins and warning coloration. The monophyly of the Pteroini is supported by recent phylogenetic analyses. However, the interrelationships between inter- and intra-genera of the Pteroini are contentious. In this study, 5,335 bps of two mitochondrial and five nuclear genes were sequenced to reconstruct the phylogeny of lionfishes. Our analyses showed <italic>Dendrochirus</italic> and <italic>Pterois</italic> were both not monophyletic and divided into <italic>Dendrochirus</italic> I, II, and III clades (<italic>D</italic>. I, II, and III) and <italic>Pterois</italic> I and II clades (<italic>Pt</italic>. I and II), respectively. <italic>Pt</italic>. I was sister to the <italic>Pt</italic>. II + <italic>D</italic>. I clades. <italic>D</italic>. II was the sister group of the <italic>Ebosia</italic> + <italic>Parapterois</italic> clade. The <italic>D</italic>. III clade was at the base of the Pteroini, followed by the genus <italic>Brachypterois</italic>. Morphologically, we provided combinations of characters to distinguish all clades. According to the molecular and morphological data, we propose a revised taxonomy of the Pteroini. <italic>D</italic>. I and <italic>Pt</italic>. I hold the generic names of <italic>Dendrochirus</italic> and <italic>Pterois</italic>, respectively. <italic>Neochirus</italic> gen. n. is proposed as a new genus for the <italic>D.</italic> II clade. The genera <italic>Pteropterus</italic><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B75">Swainson, 1839</xref> and <italic>Nemapterois</italic><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B18">Fowler, 1938</xref> are revalidated for <italic>Pt.</italic> II and <italic>D.</italic> III, respectively.</p>