Phylogenetic Relationships of Greek Cyprinidae: Molecular Evidence for at Least Two Origins of the Greek Cyprinid Fauna

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“…To examine the genetic variety in cyprinidis across a broad range of geographic regions, various molecular markers, in particular allozymes, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (Durna et al, 2010;Durand et al, 2002Durand et al, , 2003Gross et al, 2002;Briolay et al, 1998;Zardoya et al, 1999) and nuclear DNA have been widely used together with the developments in molecular techniques that have elucidated molecular variation in organisms. In the study of phylogeographic patterns in freshwater and anadromous fishes, mtDNA polymorphisms have been reported to be an effective means (Avise, 1994;Bernatchez and Wilson, 1998).…”

The freshwater ichthyofauna of Greece - an update based on a hydrographic basin survey

“…It seems that no single explanation can account for the diversity of the Balkan ichthyofauna, and of the Greek ichthyofauna in particular (B N RESCU, 2004). Different species may have arrived in different times and through different pathways, and may have experienced various degrees fragmentation and isolation (ZARDOYA et al, 1999). Isolation, combined with complex climatic events, promoted speciation and produced a great variety of endemic taxa.…”

“…DURAND et al, 2003). The following vicariant and dispersal events have been proposed to account for the structural diversity and high degree of endemicity of the Greek ichthyofauna (see ECONOMIDIS, 1974;ECONOMIDIS & B N RESCU, 1991;ZARDOYA et al, 1999;DURAND et al, 2003;B N RESCU, 2004;BOBORI & ECONOMIDIS, 2006;SKOULIKIDIS et al, 2008): (a) the gradual uplift of the Alps and the Balkan Mountains from late Oligocene to the end of the Miocene isolated the Balkan drainages preventing faunal exchanges with the rest of Europe; (b) the rise of the Pindos mountain range created a northwest-southeast barrier for fish range expansions, while the rise of the Mount Othrys cut the connections of the rivers of central-eastern Greece from those of northern Greece; (c) at the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, a communication of the NW Aegean drainages with the Danube R. was temporarily established through a river-capture involving the Morava R. and the Axios R.; (d) at about the same time, a similar communication of the Adriatic drainages with the Danube R. was established through a river capture involving the Ohrid-Drim-Skadar system in the area of Kosovo; (e) also in Plio-Pleistocene times, intrusion of Black Sea waters (then a freshwater lake) into the Mediterranean through the former Aegeopotamos R. permitted dispersal of Black Sea freshwater fish to the NE Aegean drainages; and (e) sea-level regressions at the glacial maxima of the Pleistocene had a homogenising effect on fish assemblages allowing dispersal among neighbouring river basins.…”

Molecular phylogeny of European and African Barbus and their West Asian relatives in the Cyprininae (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) and orogenesis of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

“…Previous molecular phylogenetic studies of Cyprinidae and Cypriniformes evaluate too few species to obtain an overall suite of relationships for the group, though these studies achieve their major objectives [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34].…”

“…We explore the possibility that orogenesis of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) drove the early radiation of the Cyprininae. To maximize taxonomic representation, we employ data from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene encoding cytochrome b (Cytb) because this marker is widely used in phylogenetic studies of these fishes and it is a useful marker for studying higher-level relationships of teleosts [10,13,16,19,20,[35][36][37][38][39].…”