Molecular and Morphological Analyses Reveal Phylogenetic Relationships of Stingrays Focusing on the Family Dasyatidae (Myliobatiformes)

Abstract

Elucidating the phylogenetic relationships of the current but problematic Dasyatidae (Order Myliobatiformes) was the first priority of the current study. Here, we studied three molecular gene markers of 43 species (COI gene), 33 species (ND2 gene) and 34 species (RAG1 gene) of stingrays to draft out the phylogenetic tree of the order. Nine character states were identified and used to confirm the molecularly constructed phylogenetic trees. Eight or more clades (at different hierarchical level) were identified for COI, ND2 and RAG1 genes in the Myliobatiformes including four clades containing members of the present Dasyatidae, thus rendering the latter non-monophyletic. The uncorrected p-distance between these four ‘Dasytidae’ clades when compared to the distance between formally known families confirmed that these four clades should be elevated to four separate families. We suggest a revision of the present classification, retaining the Dasyatidae (Dasyatis and Taeniurops species) but adding three new families namely, Neotrygonidae (Neotrygon and Taeniura species), Himanturidae (Himantura species) and Pastinachidae (Pastinachus species). Our result indicated the need to further review the classification of Dasyatis microps. By resolving the non-monophyletic problem, the suite of nine character states enables the natural classification of the Myliobatiformes into at least thirteen families based on morphology.

Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library

“…tortonesei , which supports the need for a taxonomic revision of the Mediterranean Dasyatidae. Such unresolved cases could be clarified by using a combined morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, as successfully performed for the Indo-Pacific stingrays [96]. The barcode-referenced library of voucher tissues held by ELASMOMED represents a unique opportunity for subsequent research intended to achieve taxonomic improvements.…”

First record of the honeycomb stingray Himantura leoparda (Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008) (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) in the Mediterranean Sea, confirmed by DNA barcoding

“…(2012), Arlyza et al (2013), and Lim, Lim, Chong, and Loh (2015) and in the sequences of four unpublished Indian H. leoparda samples (KF899500, KF899501, KF899502, and KF899353) from Indonesia, India (Bineesh), Tanzania (Zanzibar), Malaysia (Kean-Chong) and South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Videl) were used to build the network (see Table S1). During the analysis only two base pair (bp) differences were observed between the samples in the present study and two previously-studied H. leoparda samples from South Africa [Arlyza et al (2013), H27, see Figure 1], and five bp differences observed for three H1samples from India (KF899500, KF899501, and KF899502).…”

Introductory Chapter: The Elasmobranchs as a Fishery Resource

“…In recent years, there have been considerable eforts in the Asian region, with wide-ranging phylogenetic and morphological inferences [5,6], as well as the description of new species [7,11,15] and the reinstatement of a number of families [8].…”

“…However, the full diversity of the elasmobranchs is still unclear, and a number of species have been described in recent years, principally from the waters of Asia and Oceania [5][6][7][8].…”

“…The rays include 5 orders, 20 families, and around 574 species [9,10]. In recent years, the application of molecular tools in combination with morphological analyses has led to a signiicant increase in the known diversity of elasmobranch species [6,11]. One of the most important molecular tools is the DNA barcode [12], which provides a rapid and reliable approach for the identiication of taxonomic groups, especially those which may contain cryptic species, that is, taxa that are morphologically indistinguishable, but genetically distinct, highlighting the need for systematic reviews [7,13,14].…”