The biogeographic history of eelpouts and related fishes: linking phylogeny, environmental change, and patterns of dispersal in a globally distributed fish group

AbstractModern genetic data sets present unprecedented opportunities to understand the evolutionary origins of taxonomic groups comprising hundreds to thousands of species. When the timing of key events are known, it is also possible to investigate biogeographic history in the context of major phenomena (e.g., continental drift). In this study, we investigated the biogeographic history of the suborder Zoarcoidei, a globally distributed fish group that includes species inhabiting both poles and multiple taxa that produce antifreeze proteins to survive chronic subfreezing temperatures. We first generated a multi-locus, time-calibrated phylogeny for the group. We then used biogeographic modeling to reconstruct ancestral ranges across the tree and quantify the type and frequency of biogeographic events (e.g., founder, dispersal). With these results, we considered how the cooling of the Southern and Arctic Oceans, which reached their present-day subfreezing temperatures 10-15 million years ago (Mya) and 2-3 Mya, respectively, may have shaped the evolutionary history of Zoarcoidei, with an emphasis on the most speciose and widely distributed family, eelpouts (family Zoarcidae). Our phylogenetic results clarified standing issues in the Zoarcoidei taxonomy and showed that the group began to diversify in the Oligocene ∼31-32 Mya, with the center of origin for all families in north temperate waters. Within-area speciation was the most common biogeographic event in the group’s history (80% of all events) followed by dispersal (20%). Finally, we found mixed evidence for polar ocean cooling underpinning Zoarcoidei diversification, with support limited to eelpout speciation in the Southern Ocean over the last 10 million years.

Download Full-text

The biogeographic history of eelpouts and related fishes: linking phylogeny, environmental change, and patterns of dispersal in a globally distributed fish group

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107211 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107211

Author(s):

Scott Hotaling ◽

Marek L. Borowiec ◽

Luana S.F. Lins ◽

Thomas Desvignes ◽

Joanna L. Kelley

Keyword(s):

Environmental Change ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

History Of ◽

Fish Group ◽

Globally Distributed

Download Full-text

Eritreo-Arabian Affinities of the Socotran Flora as Revealed from the Molecular Phylogeny of Aerva (Amaranthaceae)

Systematic Botany ◽

10.1600/036364406778388683 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 560-570 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Mike Thiv ◽

Mats Thulin ◽

Norbert Kilian ◽

H. Peter Linder

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Plastid Dna ◽

Molecular Dating ◽

Tropical Asia ◽

Biogeographic Patterns ◽

Dna Sequence Data ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

History Of ◽

Taxonomic Groups

We investigated the colonization of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Socotra through phylogenetic analysis of Aerva (Amaranthaceae) based on nuclear and plastid DNA sequence data. The biogeographic history of the genus was tracked using ancestral area reconstructions and molecular dating. Three independent colonization lineages from the Eritreo-Arabian subregion of the Sudano-Zambesian Region were revealed: one endemic clade comprising Aerva revoluta / A. microphylla and once within A. lanata and A. javanica. Our results provide further support for the dominance of Eritreo-Arabian affinities in the flora of Socotra, in contrast to more rare affinities to Madagascar, the Mascarenes, southern Africa, and tropical Asia. Our data point towards colonization via dispersal, rather than a vicariance origin of the island elements. The overall biogeographic patterns of Aerva show only limited concordance with other taxonomic groups distributed on Indian Ocean islands.

Download Full-text

The “Cobra-preta” of São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea, is a new species of Naja Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata: Elapidae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4324.1.7 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4324 (1) ◽

pp. 121 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

LUIS M. P. CERÍACO ◽

MARIANA P. MARQUES ◽

ANDREAS SCHMITZ ◽

AARON M. BAUER

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Oceanic Islands ◽

Gulf Of Guinea ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

History Of ◽

Morphological And Molecular Data ◽

Taxonomic Groups ◽

A New Species

The Cobra-Preta (black snake in Portuguese) of Sao Tomé Island in the Gulf of Guinea has historically been referred to as Naja (Boulengerina) melanoleuca (Squamata: Elapidae). Its presence on the island has been traditionally explained as an introduction from the mainland by Portuguese settlers, supposedly to control the rat population. This explanation has been widely accepted by local authorities and even international conservation agencies. The taxonomic identity of this snake has remained undisputed by all taxonomists who have published about it, with the exception of L. Capocaccia in 1961. Arguments supporting the human introduction hypothesis are weak and are contradicted by historical, morphological and molecular data. Further, the biogeographic history of the Gulf of Guinea oceanic islands and recent insights on the taxonomic identity and evolutionary history of other taxonomic groups occurring there suggest that the Cobra-Preta, in fact, represents a distinct lineage of the melanoleuca group, endemic to São Tomé. We here describe the Cobra Preta as a new species. The new species differs from N. (B.) melanoleuca, its sister species, by a distinct coloration ventral pattern and the type of contact of the sublingual scales. Data on the toxicology, distribution, ecology, folklore and conservation status of the new species are presented.

Download Full-text

A review of the Entocytheridae (Ostracoda) of the world: updated bibliographic and species checklists and global georeferenced database, with insights into host specificity and latitudinal patterns of species richness

Crustaceana ◽

10.1163/15685403-00003337 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 87 (8-9) ◽

pp. 923-951 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Alexandre Mestre ◽

Juan S. Monrós ◽

Francesc Mesquita-Joanes

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Host Specificity ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Free Access ◽

Global Biodiversity Information Facility ◽

Species List ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Richness Pattern ◽

History Of ◽

Taxonomic Groups

The creation of biodiversity datasets freely available for the scientific community is a valuable task to stimulate global research on biodiversity. Among others, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is a remarkable resource providing free online access to biodiversity data on many diverse taxonomic groups (including Ostracoda) from both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. More specific databases for Ostracoda georeferenced data have been built (e.g., NACODe and OMEGA), some with freely available data. However, the Entocytheridae, a family of ostracods living commensal on other crustaceans, with 220 living species, representing the third non-marine ostracod family in number of species, has been remarkably under-represented in the currently available biodiversity databases. To cover this gap, we present here a free-access world database of Entocytheridae published in GBIF and review the current knowledge of the group by updating a bibliographic and species checklists of the Entocytheridae. We also analyse the host specificity of the group and the latitudinal species richness pattern in North and Central America (including 186 spp.). The current database includes 3509 georeferenced records from 220 species, in contrast to just 44 entocytherid georeferenced records previously published in GBIF. In addition, the updated species list accounts for 43 species and 2 genera that were not included in the previous compendium on Entocytheridae published by Hart & Hart in 1974, so as 40 species not included in the 2013 Checklist provided by the Catalogue of Life. We show that the specialisation in one unique host species is not the rule in Entocytheridae, and evidence an unusual latitudinal pattern of species richness in North and Central American entocytherids, most probably related to the biogeographic history of their hosts.

Download Full-text

Phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of the Australian trapdoor spider genus Conothele (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Halonoproctidae): diversification into arid habitats in an otherwise tropical radiation

Invertebrate Systematics ◽

10.1071/is18078 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Joel A. Huey ◽

Mia J. Hillyer ◽

Mark S. Harvey

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Relationships ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Continental Drift ◽

Ancestral Area ◽

Operational Taxonomic Units ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Single Clade ◽

History Of ◽

Lineage Diversity

In Australia, climate change and continental drift have given rise to a complex biota comprising mesic specialists, arid-adapted lineages, and taxa that have arrived on the continent from Asia. We explore the phylogenetic diversity and biogeographic history of the Australian trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 that is widespread in Australia’s monsoonal tropics and arid zone. We sequenced three mtDNA and five nuDNA markers from 224 specimens. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among specimens and estimated the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using species delimitation methods. The timing of divergences was estimated and ancestral area reconstructions were conducted. We recovered 61 OTUs, grouped into four major clades; a single clade represented by an arboreal ecomorph, and three fossorial clades. The Australian Conothele had a crown age of ~19 million years, and ancestral area reconstructions showed a complex history with multiple transitions among the monsoonal tropics, central arid zone, south-west and Pilbara bioregion. Conothele arrived on the continent during periods of biotic exchange with Asia. Since then, Conothele has colonised much of the Australian arid and monsoonal zones, during a period of climatic instability. The Pilbara bioregion harbours high lineage diversity, emphasising the role of climate refugia.

Download Full-text

Amazonia as the Origin and Diversification Area of Didelphidae (Mammalia: Metatheria), and a Review of the Fossil Record of the Clade

Journal of Mammalian Evolution ◽

10.1007/s10914-021-09548-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mariela C. Castro ◽

Murilo J. Dahur ◽

Gabriel S. Ferreira

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Parametric Models ◽

Isthmus Of Panama ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Early Diversification ◽

Northern Portion ◽

History Of ◽

Environmental Events ◽

Fossil Records

AbstractDidelphidae is the largest New World radiation of marsupials, and is mostly represented by arboreal, small- to medium-sized taxa that inhabit tropical and/or subtropical forests. The group originated and remained isolated in South America for millions of years, until the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. In this study, we present the first reconstruction of the biogeographic history of Didelphidae including all major clades, based on parametric models and stratified analyses over time. We also compiled all the pre-Quaternary fossil records of the group, and contrasted these data to our biogeographic inferences, as well as to major environmental events that occurred in the South American Cenozoic. Our results indicate the relevance of Amazonia in the early diversification of Didelphidae, including the divergence of the major clades traditionally ranked as subfamilies and tribes. Cladogeneses in other areas started in the late Miocene, an interval of intense shifts, especially in the northern portion of Andes and Amazon Basin. Occupation of other areas continued through the Pliocene, but few were only colonized in Quaternary times. The comparison between the biogeographic inference and the fossil records highlights some further steps towards better understanding the spatiotemporal evolution of the clade. Finally, our results stress that the early history of didelphids is obscured by the lack of Paleogene fossils, which are still to be unearthed from low-latitude deposits of South America.

Download Full-text

2005 Verriest Medal awarded to Professor John D. Mollon

Visual Neuroscience ◽

10.1017/s0952523806239981 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 23 (3-4) ◽

pp. ii-ii

Keyword(s):

Color Vision ◽

Full Spectrum ◽

Visual Neuroscience ◽

Evolutionary Origins ◽

University Of Cambridge ◽

Color Vision Tests ◽

Spectral Coding ◽

History Of ◽

The University

The International Colour Vision Society awarded the 2005 Verriest Medal to John D. Mollon, Professor of Visual Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, UK. This award is bestowed by the Society to honor long-term contributions to the field of color vision. If the field of color vision were itself a rainbow, then Professor Mollon's contributions cover nearly its full spectrum, including the isolation and elucidation of basic chromatic coding mechanisms and the constraints that they impose on human (and more generally primate) visual performance, the genetic basis of spectral coding mechanisms, the ecological influences on and evolutionary origins of chromatic discrimination. He has been instrumental in the design of several new color vision tests and has extensively exploited abnormal models, both congenital and acquired, to further our understanding of normal mechanisms. He is especially appreciated for his keen and profound sense of the history of science, in particular with respect to the field of color vision. He has been a member of the society for over 25 years and is currently serving on its board of directors. He organized the 2001 ICVS meeting in Cambridge, celebrating the bicentennial of Thomas Young's lecture on color vision.

Download Full-text