TY - JOUR

T1 - Higher and lower-level relationships of the deep-sea fish order Alepocephaliformes (Teleostei: Otocephala) inferred from whole mitogenome sequences

AU - Poulsen, Jan Yde

AU - Møller, Peter Rask

AU - Lavoué, Sébastien

AU - Knudsen, Steen W.

AU - Nishida, Mutsumi

AU - Miya, Masaki

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - Fishes of the order Alepocephaliformes, slickheads and tubeshoulders, constitute a group of deep-sea fishes poorlyknown in respect to most areas of their biology and systematics. Morphological studies have found alepocephaliformfishes to display a mosaic of synapomorphic and symplesiomorphic characters, resulting in great difficultieswhen attempting to resolve intra- and interrelationships. Molecular data recently added to the confusion byremoving Alepocephaliformes from the Euteleostei and placed them as incertae sedis within the Otocephala. In thepresent study we attempt to further clarify relationships of Alepocephaliformes by adding newly determined wholemitogenome sequences from 19 alepocephaliforms in order to address 1) phylogenetic position of Alepocephaliformeswithin the Otocephala; and 2) intrarelationships of Alepocephaliformes. The present study includes 96 taxaof which 30 are alepocephaliforms and unambiguously aligned sequences were subjected to partitioned maximumlikelihood and Bayesian analyses.Results from the present study support Alepocephaliformes as a genetically distinct otocephalan order as sisterclade to Ostariophysi (mostly freshwater fishes comprising Gonorynchiformes, Cypriniformes, Characiformes,Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes). The disputed family Bathylaconidae was found to be an artificial assemblage ofthe two genera Bathylaco and Herwigia, with the former as the sister group of the family Alepocephalidae and thelatter nested within Alepocephalidae. Platytroctidae was found to be monophyletic as sister clade to the rest ofAlepocephaliformes. Previously unrecognized clades within the family Alepocephalidae are presented and a cladecomprising Alepocephalus, Conocara and Leptoderma was recovered as the most derived. As long as the currentclassification is being followed, the genera Alepocephalus, Bathytroctes, Conocara and Narcetes were all foundnon-monophyletic. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 98,923-936.

AB - Fishes of the order Alepocephaliformes, slickheads and tubeshoulders, constitute a group of deep-sea fishes poorlyknown in respect to most areas of their biology and systematics. Morphological studies have found alepocephaliformfishes to display a mosaic of synapomorphic and symplesiomorphic characters, resulting in great difficultieswhen attempting to resolve intra- and interrelationships. Molecular data recently added to the confusion byremoving Alepocephaliformes from the Euteleostei and placed them as incertae sedis within the Otocephala. In thepresent study we attempt to further clarify relationships of Alepocephaliformes by adding newly determined wholemitogenome sequences from 19 alepocephaliforms in order to address 1) phylogenetic position of Alepocephaliformeswithin the Otocephala; and 2) intrarelationships of Alepocephaliformes. The present study includes 96 taxaof which 30 are alepocephaliforms and unambiguously aligned sequences were subjected to partitioned maximumlikelihood and Bayesian analyses.Results from the present study support Alepocephaliformes as a genetically distinct otocephalan order as sisterclade to Ostariophysi (mostly freshwater fishes comprising Gonorynchiformes, Cypriniformes, Characiformes,Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes). The disputed family Bathylaconidae was found to be an artificial assemblage ofthe two genera Bathylaco and Herwigia, with the former as the sister group of the family Alepocephalidae and thelatter nested within Alepocephalidae. Platytroctidae was found to be monophyletic as sister clade to the rest ofAlepocephaliformes. Previously unrecognized clades within the family Alepocephalidae are presented and a cladecomprising Alepocephalus, Conocara and Leptoderma was recovered as the most derived. As long as the currentclassification is being followed, the genera Alepocephalus, Bathytroctes, Conocara and Narcetes were all foundnon-monophyletic. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 98,923-936.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Fisk

KW - Dybhav

KW - Fylogeni

KW - Fish

KW - Deep-Sea

KW - Phylogeny

M3 - Journal article

VL - 98

SP - 923

EP - 936

JO - Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London

JF - Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London

SN - 0024-4066

ER -