Phylogeography of Aphyocypris normalis Nichols and Pope, 1927 at Hainan Island and adjacent areas based on mitochondrial DNA data

Abstract

We investigated the genetic structure of the freshwater fish Aphyocypris normalis, in 33 populations around Hainan Island and southern mainland China. Sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b from 127 specimens yielded 47 haplotypes, from which we inferred a Bayesian tree. This revealed three major divergences: a principal clade of specimens with widespread geographic distribution, plus two clades with limited distribution. We estimated that these diverged between 1.05–0.16 Ma. Additionally, based on molecular data and comparing with the climate patterns of Hainan Island, eight phylogeographic ranges (populations) of A. normalis were constructed: the eastern plain (E), northeastern hills and plain (NE), northwestern hills and lowlands (NW), central mountains (C), southeastern hills and plain (SE), southern mountains and hills (S), southwestern mountains and lowlands (SW), and western lowlands (W). The patterns of geographical divergence in this species do not reflect the isolation caused by the Qiongzhou (Hainan) Strait, which would generally be experienced by terrestrial animals on isolated islands. The present results indicate that the major clades within A. normalis have diverged before the temporary land bridge existed across the strait during the Last Glacial Maximum.

Divergence of the freshwater sleeper, Neodontobutis hainanensis (Chen, 1985) (Teleostei, Odontobutidae), in the Pearl River basin and on Hainan Island of southern China

“…A similar pattern of divergence is also observed in Channa gachua , Tanichthys albonubes , and Opsariichthys hainanensis Nichols & Pope, 1927, in which Hainan populations have closer relationships with Guangxi or Vietnamese populations than Guangdong populations ( Zhao et al 2018 ; Zhang et al 2020 ; Wang et al 2021 ). Nonetheless, populations of Aphyocypris normalis Nichols & Pope, 1927 and Garra orientalis Nichols, 1925 from northern Hainan Island are genetically closer to their Guangdong population ( Chen and Jang-Liaw 2023 ; Yang et al 2016 ), but the populations of southern or southwestern Hainan Island of these species were genetically distinct, indicating potentially independent origins, probably from the northern Indo-China Peninsula.…”

Biogeography of Greater Antillean freshwater fishes, with a review of competing hypotheses

“…For instance, streams draining the islands of Hainan and Taiwan integrated with mainland drainages during Pleistocene sea‐level low stands and freshwater fishes populating both islands are a random subset of fishes available from mainland source pools (Lin et al ., 2023). This includes primary freshwater fishes, notably Cypriniformes (Chiang et al ., 2013; Ju et al ., 2018; Wang et al ., 2022; Chen & Jang‐Liaw, 2023). Similarly, Late Miocene–Early Pliocene drainage connections allowed cypriniform fishes to populate the Japanese archipelago (Tominaga, Nakajima & Watanabe, 2016; Jang‐Liaw et al ., 2019; Taniguchi et al ., 2021).…”

Biogeography of Greater Antillean freshwater fishes, with a review of competing hypotheses

“…For instance, streams draining the islands of Hainan and Taiwan integrated with mainland drainages during Pleistocene sea-level low stands and freshwater fishes populating both islands were a random subset of fishes available from mainland source pools (Lin et al, 2023). This included primary freshwater fishes, notably Cypriniformes (Chiang et al, 2013; Ju et al, 2018; Wang et al, 2022; Chen & Jang-Liaw, 2023). Similarly, Late Miocene-Early Pliocene drainage connections allowed cypriniform fishes to populate the Japanese archipelago (Tominaga, Nakajima, & Watanabe, 2016; Jang-Liaw et al, 2019; Taniguchi et al, 2021).…”