Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy
The pygmy angelfishes (genus Centropyge, family Pomacanthidae) are brightly colored species that occupy reef habitats in every tropical ocean. Some species are rarely observed because they occur below conventional scuba depths. Their striking coloration can command thousands of U.S. dollars in the a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Academic Press
2014
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49796 |
| _version_ | 1848758316740640768 |
|---|---|
| author | Gaither, M. Schultz, J. Bellwood, D. Pyle, R. Di Battista, Joseph Rocha, L. Bowen, B. |
| author_facet | Gaither, M. Schultz, J. Bellwood, D. Pyle, R. Di Battista, Joseph Rocha, L. Bowen, B. |
| author_sort | Gaither, M. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The pygmy angelfishes (genus Centropyge, family Pomacanthidae) are brightly colored species that occupy reef habitats in every tropical ocean. Some species are rarely observed because they occur below conventional scuba depths. Their striking coloration can command thousands of U.S. dollars in the aquarium trade, and closely related species are often distinguished only by coloration. These factors have impeded phylogenetic resolution, and every phylogeographic survey to date has reported discordance between coloration, taxonomy, and genetic partitions. Here we report a phylogenetic survey of 29 of the 34 recognized species (N= 94 plus 23 outgroups), based on two mtDNA and three nuclear loci, totaling 2272. bp. The resulting ML and Baysian trees are highly concordant and indicate that the genus Centropyge is paraphyletic, consistent with a previous analysis of the family Pomacanthidae. Two recognized genera (Apolemichthys and Genicanthus) nest within Centropyge, and two subgenera (Xiphypops and Paracentropyge) comprise monophyletic lineages that should be elevated to genus level. Based on an age estimate of 38. Ma for the family Pomacanthidae, Centropyge diverged from the closest extant genus Pygoplites about 33. Ma, three deep lineages within Centropyge diverged about 18-28. Ma, and four species complexes diverged 3-12. Ma. However, in 11 of 13 cases, putative species in these complexes are indistinguishable based on morphology and genetics, being defined solely by coloration. These cases indicate either emerging species or excessive taxonomic splitting based on brightly colored variants. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:42:03Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-49796 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:42:03Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Academic Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-497962017-09-13T15:34:02Z Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy Gaither, M. Schultz, J. Bellwood, D. Pyle, R. Di Battista, Joseph Rocha, L. Bowen, B. The pygmy angelfishes (genus Centropyge, family Pomacanthidae) are brightly colored species that occupy reef habitats in every tropical ocean. Some species are rarely observed because they occur below conventional scuba depths. Their striking coloration can command thousands of U.S. dollars in the aquarium trade, and closely related species are often distinguished only by coloration. These factors have impeded phylogenetic resolution, and every phylogeographic survey to date has reported discordance between coloration, taxonomy, and genetic partitions. Here we report a phylogenetic survey of 29 of the 34 recognized species (N= 94 plus 23 outgroups), based on two mtDNA and three nuclear loci, totaling 2272. bp. The resulting ML and Baysian trees are highly concordant and indicate that the genus Centropyge is paraphyletic, consistent with a previous analysis of the family Pomacanthidae. Two recognized genera (Apolemichthys and Genicanthus) nest within Centropyge, and two subgenera (Xiphypops and Paracentropyge) comprise monophyletic lineages that should be elevated to genus level. Based on an age estimate of 38. Ma for the family Pomacanthidae, Centropyge diverged from the closest extant genus Pygoplites about 33. Ma, three deep lineages within Centropyge diverged about 18-28. Ma, and four species complexes diverged 3-12. Ma. However, in 11 of 13 cases, putative species in these complexes are indistinguishable based on morphology and genetics, being defined solely by coloration. These cases indicate either emerging species or excessive taxonomic splitting based on brightly colored variants. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49796 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.01.017 Academic Press restricted |
| spellingShingle | Gaither, M. Schultz, J. Bellwood, D. Pyle, R. Di Battista, Joseph Rocha, L. Bowen, B. Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| title | Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| title_full | Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| title_fullStr | Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| title_short | Evolution of pygmy angelfishes: Recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| title_sort | evolution of pygmy angelfishes: recent divergences, introgression, and the usefulness of color in taxonomy |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49796 |