The origin and biogeographic diversification of fishes in the family Poeciliidae

Abstract

The fish subfamily Poeciliinae (sensu Parenti, 1981) is widely distributed across the Western Hemisphere and a dominant component of the fish communities of Central America. Poeciliids have figured prominently in previous studies on the roles of dispersal and vicariance in shaping current geographic distributions. Most recently, Hrbek et al. combined a DNA-based phylogeny of the family with geological models to provide a biogeographic perspective that emphasized the role of both vicariance and dispersal. Here we expand on that effort with a database enlarged in the quantity of sequence represented per species, in the number of species included, and in an enlarged and more balanced representation of the order Cyprinodontiformes. We combine a robust timetree based upon multiple fossil calibrations with enhanced biogeographic analyses that include ancestral area reconstructions to provide a detailed biogeographic history of this clade. Key features of our results are that the family originated in South America, but its major diversification dates to a later colonization of Central America. We also resolve additional colonizations among South, Central and North America and the Caribbean and consider how this reconstruction contributes to our understanding of the mechanisms of dispersal.

Pantanodontidae (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes), the sister group to all other cyprinodontoid killifishes as inferred by molecular data

“…lamp-eye clade as supported by morphological studies (Roberts 1970, Parenti 1981, Costa 1996, Ghedotti 2000. Although the position of F. simplex is only moderately supported in the analyses, other studies using different molecular data sets indicate that Fluviphylax is not closely related to African lamp-eyes (Pollux et al 2014;Reznick et al 2017). …”

“…These studies indicated the African Procatopodinae as the sister group of a clade comprising European non-Poeciliidae cyprinodontoid genera (Valencia Myers, 1928 andAphanius Nardo, 1827). In addition, Pollux et al (2014) and Reznick et al (2017) based on a broad sample of New World cyprinodontoid taxa supported the South American Fluviphylax as the sister group of a Neotropical clade comprising Poeciliinae and Anablepidae, but did not include Pantanodon in their analyses. A species of the latter genus, Pantanodon stuhlmanni (Ahl, 1924) was tentatively included in a phylogenetic analysis (Pohl et al 2015), based on two mitochondrial and three nuclear genes.…”

“…Recently, some molecular phylogenetic analyses (Pollux et al 2014, Pohl et al 2015, Reznick et al 2017 challenged the monophyly of Poeciliidae sensu Parenti (1981). These studies indicated the African Procatopodinae as the sister group of a clade comprising European non-Poeciliidae cyprinodontoid genera (Valencia Myers, 1928 andAphanius Nardo, 1827).…”

In love and war: The morphometric and phylogenetic basis of ornamentation, and the evolution of male display behavior, in the livebearer genus Poecilia

“…() and Reznick et al. (). This low uncertainty in the phylogenetic relationships among the subgenera of Poecilia indicates that results of comparative analyses using either tree should be identical (Hernandez et al.…”

“…) and are two of the most speciose clades in the family (Reznick et al. ), which indicates that phenotypic evolution of enlarged dorsal or caudal fins may have led to rapid speciation in these livebearers.…”