Pantanodontidae (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes), the sister group to all other cyprinodontoid killifishes as inferred by molecular data

Abstract

Pantanodon, containing two African extant species and four European fossil species, for a long time had an uncertain position among the Cyprinodontiformes due to its peculiar morphology. In the last decades, Pantanodon has been considered closely related to African lamp-eyes of the Procatopodinae clade, which is contained in the Poeciliidae, a teleost fish family with a broad geographical distribution in Africa and the Americas. However, recent molecular studies have challenged the monophyly of the Poeciliidae, but the position of Pantanodon remained uncertain. We analysed one mitochondrial (COI) and five nuclear loci (GLYT1, MYH6, SH3PX3, RAG1, ENC1), a total of 5,083 bp, for 27 cyprinodontiform taxa and 6 outgroups, obtaining a well-supported phylogeny, in which the monophyly of Poeciliidae, as supported by morphological data is refuted. Pantanodon stuhlmanni, the type species of the genus, is recovered as the most basal cyprinodontoid lineage and other African taxa formerly placed in Poeciliidae are highly supported as more closely related to European non-poeciliid cyprinodontoid genera than to other taxa. Since the present tree topology is not compatible with the present classification of the Cyprinodontoidei, a new classification using available family group names is provided: Pantanodontidae is used for Pantanodon; Procatopodidae, for the African lamp-eye clade; and Fluviphylacidae, for the South American genus Fluviphylax. Poeciliidae is restricted to the American livebearers, hence restoring the classification generally used prior to 1981.

Multigene phylogeny supports diversification of four-eyed fishes and one-sided livebearers (Cyprinodontiformes: Anablepidae) related to major South American geological events

“…The present study is congruent with most recent analyses of Cyprinodontiformes (e.g. [ 25 , 39 , 45 ]), where Poeciliidae (sensu [ 1 ],) is not corroborated. Similarly, the phylogenetic analyses recovered three unrelated clades, presently receiving family status, Fluviphylacidae, Poeciliidae and Procatopodidae [ 45 ] ( Fig 3 ).…”

“…Both analyses did not recover Poeciliidae (sensu [ 1 ]) as monophyletic, with their taxa appearing in three unrelated lineages: one, including African procatopodines as part of the Old-World clade B, and two, comprising the subfamily Poeciliinae and the Amazonian genus Fluviphylax as unrelated parts of the New World clade A ( Fig 3 ). The analyses highly supported Anablepidae as sister to the internal fertilizing family Poeciliidae (sensu [ 45 ]), as well as a clade containing Anablepidae, Poeciliidae, and Fluviphylax (clade A). In Anablepidae the genus Oxyzygonectes was recovered as the sister group of Anableps and Jenynsia , and both subgenera of Jenynsia were also corroborated [ 2 ].…”

“…[ 25 , 39 , 45 ]), where Poeciliidae (sensu [ 1 ],) is not corroborated. Similarly, the phylogenetic analyses recovered three unrelated clades, presently receiving family status, Fluviphylacidae, Poeciliidae and Procatopodidae [ 45 ] ( Fig 3 ). Once again, the African clade Procatopodidae was recovered as the sister group of a clade comprising Valenciidae and Aphaniidae [ 39 , 45 , 46 ], composing the Clade B, and the New World lineages Poeciliidae and Fluviphylacidae, recovered in the Clade A along with the Anablepidae ( Fig 3 ).…”

Draft Genome Assembly and Annotation of the Gila Topminnow Poeciliopsis occidentalis

“…Clade support was assessed by means of a bootstrap analysis (100 replicates). Inferred relationships among all taxa were as expected (e.g., Betancur et al, 2013;Reznick et al, 2017;Bragança et al, 2018). As observed in Figure 2, five genes are absent from all Poeciliid branches and thus likely lost in their common ancestor (Solute carrier family 27 member 6; zgc:55888; Leucine-rich repeat neuronal protein 1-like; TGF-beta receptor type-2-like; the other one not characterized).…”

Where ichthyofaunal provinces meet: the fish fauna of the Lake Edward system, East Africa

“…This family, which used to include the oviparous African lampeyes, has recently been restricted to the American live bearers, while the oviparous African lampeyes are classified as Procatopodidae (Bragança et al . ). In the Lake Edward system, Poecilia reticulata was found in many of the smaller streams and tributaries flowing into the lakes and the channel and in the Nkuguté and Nyambikere crater lakes.…”