Phylogeography and population structure of Ponticola gorlap (Teleostei: Gobiidae) in an evolutionary distinctive and ecologically threatened Caspian Sea sub-basin

Zarei, Fatah; Esmaeili, Hamid Reza; Sadeghi, Reza; Reichenbacher, Bettina; Schliewen, Ulrich K.; Abbasi, Keyvan; Gholamhosseini, Ali

doi:10.1007/s00027-022-00913-z

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“…They are aragonitic mineralizations that develop independently from the skeleton, which are functionally associated with the senses of hearing and equilibrium [1]. Analysis of the shapes of otoliths has significantly contributed to knowledge of teleost systematics and biodiversity [2][3][4][5][6][7], as well as historic diversity, phylogeny, zoogeography, and climatology [8][9][10][11][12], ancient and modern fisheries [13], life history and habitat [14], and population structure [6,7,15]. The sagittal otolith (referred to as otolith hereforth) is of particular interest, since it often possesses distinctive morphological features that vary among populations, species, and genera [10,[16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Otoliths of Caspian gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae): Morphological diversity and phylogenetic implications

et al. 2023

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Otoliths (ear stones) of the inner ears of teleost fishes, which develop independently from the skeleton and are functionally associated with hearing and the sense of equilibrium, have significantly contributed to contemporary understanding of teleost fish systematics and evolutionary diversity. The sagittal otolith is of particular interest, since it often possesses distinctive morphological features that differ significantly among species, and have been shown to be species- and genus-specific, making it an informative taxonomic tool for ichthyologists. The otolith morphology of the Caspian Sea gobiids has not been thoroughly studied yet, with data available for only a few species. The aim of the present paper is to examine the qualitative and quantitative taxonomic and phylogenetic information in the sagittal otoliths of these species. A total of 118 otoliths representing 30 gobiid species (including 53.5% of the Caspian gobiofauna) in three gobiid lineages (i.e., Gobius, Pomatoschistus, and Acanthogobius) and 11 genera (i.e., all Ponto-Caspian gobiid genera except Babka) were analysed at taxonomic levels using an integrated descriptive and morphometric approach. The results indicated high taxonomic efficiency of otolith morphology and morphometry at taxonomic levels for the Ponto-Caspian gobiids. Our qualitative and quantitative otolith data also (i) support the monophyly of neogobiin gobies, (ii) along with other morphological and ecological data, offer a new perspective on the systematics of Neogobius bathybius, (iii) suggest the reassignment of Hyrcanogobius bergi to the genus Knipowitschia, and (iv) question the phylogenetic integrity of the four phenotypic groups previously defined in the tadpole-goby genus Benthophilus; however, more studies are needed to complete these evaluations and confirm our otolith study findings.

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