Subterranean Fishes of the World

2480

2011

Molecular Phylogentics and Evolution

470-483

61

Underground environments are increasingly recognized as reservoirs of faunal diversity. Extreme environmental conditions and limited dispersal ability of underground organisms have been acknowledged as important factors promoting divergence between species and conspecific populations. However, in many instances, there is no correlation between genetic divergence and morphological differentiation. Lucifuga Poey is a stygobiotic fish genus that lives in Cuban and Bahamian caves. In Cuba, it offers a unique opportunity to study the influence of habitat fragmentation on the genetic divergence of stygobiotic species and populations. The genus includes four species and one morphological variant that have contrasting geographical distributions. In this study, we first performed a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Lucifuga Cuban species using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The mitochondrial phylogeny revealed three deeply divergent clades that were supported by nuclear and morphological characters. Within two of these main clades, we identified five lineages that are candidate cryptic species and a taxonomical synonymy between Lucifuga subterranea and Lucifuga teresinarum. Secondly, phylogeographic analysis using a fragment of the cytochrome b gene was performed for Lucifuga dentata, the most widely distributed species. We found strong geographical organization of the haplotype clades at different geographic scales that can be explained by episodes of dispersal and population expansion followed by population fragmentation and restricted gene flow. At a larger temporal scale, these processes could also explain the diversification and the distribution of the different species. Highlights: mtDNA phylogeny of the Cuban cave fishes (Lucifuga) revealed three main clades. Nuclear and morphological characters support these clades. Five putative new cryptic species were identified within two of these clades. Phylogeography indicates that dispersal and vicariance have moulds this diversity. The evolutionary trends of four phenotypic traits were inferred. KW: Blind cave fish, Cryptic species, Phylogeny, Phylogeography, Stygobiotic.

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