Vol. 56, 2017

(update: 2017/12/11; 12/21)

Molecular Phylogeny of the Opsariichthys Group (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) Based On Complete Mitochondrial Genomes

Shih-Pin Huang¹, Feng-Yu Wang², and Tzi-Yuan Wang^1,*

¹Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan. E-mail: huangshihpin@gmail.com; tziyuan@gmail.com
²Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, National Applied Research Laboratories, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. E-mail: hitachiwang@gmail.com

(Received 13 December 2016; Accepted 6 December 2017; Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan)

Shih-Pin Huang, Feng-Yu Wang, and Tzi-Yuan Wang (2017) The complete mitochondrial genomes of 76 species from 43 genera under Cyprinidae sensu lato were collected to reassess the molecular phylogeny of Opsariichthyinae sensu Liao et al. 2011. The mitogenomes of three species, Candidia barbata, Opsariichthys evolans, and Opsariichthys pachycephalus, were newly sequenced. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed based on 13 concatenated multiple protein-coding genes with two ribosomal RNA genes. The concatenated dataset provided a new perspective on systematics and relationships. Tree topologies show that a monophyletic group containing Parazacco, Candidia, Nipponocypris, Zacco, and Opsariichthys should belong to the Opsariichthys group. In addition, the present results also strongly support that Candidia and Nipponocypris should be regarded as distinct genera within the Opsariichthys group. Aphyocypris, Yaoshanicus, Nicholsicypris, and Pararasbora form a monophyletic group within Xenocyprididae, distinct from the Opsariichthys group. Furthermore, Hemigrammocypris is nested with four species of Metzia, a genus of ex-Cultrinae in Xenocyprididae. In addition, two major types of distinct stripes - longitudinal and vertical - were observed among species of the Opsariichthys group and were highly correlated with molecular phylogenetic relationships. Such types of vertical and longitudinal stripes presented in the Opsariichthys group might have originated in an ancestor species, after which distinct vertical stripes might have been lost among these cyprinids but retained in the Opsariichthys group.

Key Words: Molecular phylogeny, Mitochondrial genome, Freshwater fish, Cyprinidae, Opsariichthyinae.

Correspondence: E-mail: tziyuan@gmail.com

Citation: Huang SP, Wang FY, Wang TY. 2017. Molecular phylogeny of the Opsariichthys group (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) based on complete mitochondrial genomes. Zool Stud 56:40. doi:10.6620/ZS.2017.56-40.