Systematics of the grey mullets (Teleostei: Mugiliformes: Mugilidae): Molecular phylogenetic evidence challenges two centuries of morphology-based taxonomy

Abstract

The family Mugilidae comprises mainly coastal marine species that are widely distributed in all tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. Mugilid species are generally considered to be ecologically important and they are a major food resource for human populations in certain parts of the world. The taxonomy and systematics of the Mugilidae are still much debated and based primarily on morphological characters. In this study, we provide the first comprehensive molecular systematic account of the Mugilidae using phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequence variation at three mitochondrial loci (16S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase I, and cytochrome b) for 257 individuals from 55 currently recognized species. The study covers all 20 mugilid genera currently recognized as being valid. The family comprises seven major lineages that radiated early on from the ancestor to all current forms. All genera that were represented by two species or more, except Cestraeus, turned out to be paraphyletic or polyphyletic. Thus, the present phylogenetic results generally disagree with the current taxonomy at the genus level and imply that the anatomical characters used for the systematics of the Mugilidae may be poorly informative phylogenetically. The present results should provide a sound basis for a taxonomic revision of the mugilid genera. A proportion of the species with large distribution ranges (including Moolgarda seheli, Mugil cephalus and M. curema) appear to consist of cryptic species, thus warranting further taxonomic and genetic work at the infra-generic level.

A comparative study of Ligophorus uruguayense and L. saladensis (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from Mugil liza (Teleostei: Mugilidae) in southern Brazil

“…Both species are, despite their low genetic divergence, considered valid (Durand et al 2012, Whitfield et al 2012. The presence of separate but closely related parasite species on these closely related hosts corroborates the suggestion of El Hafidi et al (2013) that species of Ligophorus can be used as a marker for taxonomy and evolution of mullet species.…”

Ecological Influences and Morphological Correlates of Resting and Maximal Metabolic Rates across Teleost Fish Species

“…The relationship between these two and other basal groups was resolved following Zou et al (2012). We then included information from additional sources to improve the resolution for specific monophyletic families: Anguillidae (eels) (Teng et al 2009), Gadidae (cod) (Teletchea et al 2006), Mugilidae (mullet) (Durand et al 2012), Nototheniidae (cod icefish) (Kuhn and Near 2009), Pleuronectidae (flounder) (Cooper and Chapleau 1998), and Salmonidae (salmon) (Stearley and Smith 1993). Unresolved nodes were maintained as soft polytomies and the node depth in these cases was arbitrarily set to 1/2 the maximum depth.…”

Scale ontogeny in the cardinalfish family Apogonidae

“…Roberts (1993) found whole ctenoid scales only in Epigonus telescopus (Epigonidae) and Mugil cephalus (Mugilidae). Mugil cephalus is a member of a derived, monophyletic genus (Durand et al 2012), suggesting that these could be derived transforming ctenoid scales, possibly a consequence of the ability to truncate ctenii having been lost. Roberts (1993), and several earlier authors cited in his paper, focused mainly on the development of the posterior field of ctenoid scales, but they did recognize the importance of understanding spiny scale ontogeny.…”