Phylogeny of the hillstream loach genus Mesonoemacheilus reveals widespread diversification through ancient drainage connections in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot
Autor: | Siby Philip, Liju Thomas, V.K. Anoop, Rajeev Raghavan, Neelesh Dahanukar |
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Rok vydání: | 2018 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine Time Factors Genetic Speciation Range (biology) India 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences Species Specificity Genus Genetics Vicariance Animals Molecular clock Endemism Molecular Biology Phylogeny Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics biology Ecology Genetic Variation Hillstream loach Bayes Theorem Biodiversity biology.organism_classification Biodiversity hotspot Cypriniformes Phylogeography 030104 developmental biology Molecular phylogenetics |
Zdroj: | Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 129:77-84 |
ISSN: | 1055-7903 |
Popis: | Rivers draining the Western Ghats (WG) mountain ranges in peninsular India harbor an exceptionally diverse, unique and evolutionarily distinct assemblage of lower vertebrates with high levels of endemism, attributed to their evolution and potentially long history of isolation during the Late Cretaceous or Early Tertiary. A molecular phylogeny of hillstream loaches of the genus Mesonoemacheilus endemic to the WG revealed the presence of four clades which we designate as ‘species groups’. A consensus of various species delimitation methods indicates the likelihood of ‘at least’ seven more undescribed species within Mesonoemacheilus. Molecular clock analysis dates the basal clade around 38 mya in the Paleogene, and subsequent diversification in the Neogene and Quaternary periods resulting in the current genetic diversity. Biogeographic analysis suggests that vicariance events which separated the rivers on either side of the two geological barriers/gaps, the Palghat and Shencottah, in the Neogene, as well as range contractions and cladogenetic events contributed to the current patterns of diversity and distribution of this genus. Our results also provide preliminary indications on the interconnections and faunal exchange between historical river drainages in the WG region. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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