Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 12, 298-318, Copyright © 1995 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
JA Alves-Gomes, G Orti, M Haygood, W Heiligenberg and A Meyer
The order Gymnotiformes (South American electric fishes) is a fascinating
assemblage of freshwater fishes that share the unusual ability to produce
and sense electric fields used for electrolocation and social
communication. In the last few decades, the electrogenic and electrosensory
systems (EES) of these fish have served as an excellent model to study
motor and sensory physiology in vertebrates. In an attempt to the evolution
of characters associated with the EES in the group, we applied
maximum-parsimony (MP), minimum-evolution (ME), and maximum-likelihood (ML)
methods to analyze 302 aligned bases of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA and 416
bases of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA of 19 gymnotiform genera representing
all six recognized families. Six catfish genera (order Siluriformes) were
also sequenced and used as outgroups. The phylogenetic hypothesis resultant
from molecular data analysis differs in some respects from previous
hypotheses based on morphological studies. Our results were most
informative within the family level, as we were unable to elucidate the
relationships among deeper branches in this order with sufficient
confidence by using molecular data alone. The phylogenetic information of
both mitochondrial DNA segments appears to be affected by functional
constraints, and the resultant topologies were sensitive to different
weighting schemes and the algorithm used. Nonetheless, we found unanimous
support for the following phylogenetic relationships: (1) the family
Sternopygidae is an unnatural group, and Sternopygus is the sole
representative of a unique lineage within the order; (2) the family
Hypopomidae is not monophyletic; and (3) the order Gymnotiformes is
composed of at least six natural clades: Sternopygus, family Apteronotidae,
a new clade consisting of the remaining sternopygids, families Hypopomidae
+ Rhamphicthyidae, family Electrophoridae, and family Gymnotidae. By
combining molecular, morphological, and physiological information, we
propose a new hypothesis for the phylogeny of this group and suggest a new
family Eigenmanniidae n. (order Gymnotiformes).
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Phylogenetic analysis of the South American electric fishes (order Gymnotiformes) and the evolution of their electrogenic system: a synthesis based on morphology, electrophysiology, and mitochondrial sequence data
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia.
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