The Westward Journey of Neoclinus Tube Blennies

Fringehead blennies of the coastal fish genus Neoclinus include three species in the warm temperate waters of the northeastern Pacific and eight species in the warm temperature and subtropical waters of the western Pacific, but no known representatives in the intervening boreal waters. Phylogenetic relationships of these and related blenny species based on six genetic markers support the monophyly of Neoclinus and the reciprocal monophyly of the eastern and western Pacific lineages. Available evidence indicates that the group originated in the eastern Pacific and the ancestor of the western Pacific lineage crossed the north Pacific during a relatively warm interval in the Oligocene. A variety of other temperate coastal fish groups exhibit a similar trans-Pacific distribution, but the hypothesized timing of divergence of the east and west lineages varies widely.

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