Evolutionary history, biogeography, and a new species of Sphoeroides (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae): how the major biogeographic barriers of the Atlantic Ocean shaped the evolution of a pufferfish genus

ABSTRACT: Tetraodontidae is the most speciose family of Tetraodontiformes and is represented by fish popularly known as pufferfishes. They are characterized by modified jaws with four dental plates and the ability to inflate their bodies. Tetraodontids are distributed throughout the world and have a wide range of habitat use. One of its genera, Sphoeroides, shows a biogeographical pattern, with 19 of its 21 species restricted to coastal regions of the Americas. Although represented in large-scale phylogenies, the evolutionary history and biogeography of the genus have not been explored in detail. The present study aims to understand the historical and biogeographic processes that shaped the evolutionary history of Sphoeroides. Including samples from all biogeographic regions of its occurrence, we reconstruct a phylogenetic/biogeographic history hypothesis for the genus. Our results show that Sphoeroides is a paraphyletic group comprising Colomesus; indicate a central role of the biogeographic barriers of the Atlantic Ocean in the diversification of the genus; and identified a cryptic species in Brazilian waters, formally known as S. spengleri, described here through integrative taxonomy. We also propose nomenclatural changes given the position of Colomesus deeply nested within Sphoeroides.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A new deep-reef scorpionfish (Teleostei, Scorpaenidae, Scorpaenodes) from the southern Caribbean with comments on depth distributions and relationships of western Atlantic members of the genus

A new species of scorpionfish, Scorpaenodes barrybrowni Pitassy & Baldwin, sp. n. which is described, was collected during submersible diving in the southern Caribbean as part of the Smithsonian’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). It differs from the other two western Atlantic species of the genus, S. caribbaeus and S. tredecimspinosus, in various features, including its color pattern, having an incomplete lateral line comprising 8–10 pored scales, tending to be more elongate, usually having the 11th–12th pectoral-fin rays elongate, and by 20–23% divergence in the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) DNA barcode sequences. It further differs from one or the other of those species in head spination and in numbers of soft dorsal-fin rays, pectoral-fin rays, and precaudal + caudal vertebrae. Inhabiting depths of 95–160 m, the new species is the deepest western Atlantic member of the genus (S. caribbaeus occurs at depths < 35 m and S. tredecimspinosus from 7 to 82 m). DNA barcode data do not rigorously resolve relationships among the ten species of the genus for which those data are available

Misidentification of Bellator gymnostethus (Gilbert, 1892) as Prionotus ruscarius Gilbert & Starks, 1904 (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)

Robertson, D. Ross, Angulo, Arturo, Baldwin, Carole C., Pitassy, Diane, Driskell, Amy, Weigt, Lee, Navarro, Ignacio J.F. (2020): Misidentification of Bellator gymnostethus (Gilbert, 1892) as Prionotus ruscarius Gilbert &amp; Starks, 1904 (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae). Zootaxa 4852 (1): 142-142, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4852.1.

Misidentification of Bellator gymnostethus (Gilbert, 1892) as Prionotus ruscarius Gilbert & Starks, 1904 (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)

The checklist by Robertson et al. (2017) of fishes from the tropical eastern Pacific included information on three members of the family Triglidae: Bellator loxias (Jordan, 1897), Prionotus ruscarius and P. stephanophrys Lockington, 1881. Unfortunately, the identification of four specimens as P. ruscarius is incorrect, as they are Bellator gymnostethus. We thank Benjamin Victor for bringing these misidentifications to our notice through his work with mtDNA sequence data from the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD: http://www.boldsystems.org). The photographs of the four specimens on the BOLD website clearly depict a Bellator species rather than a Prionotus. However, the photograph in the 2017 paper (Figure 75, page 78), is correctly identified and labelled as P. ruscarius, and this species was collected on the cruise of the Miguel Oliver discussed in Robertson et al. (2017), see Benavides Moreno et al. (2019). This correction brings the number of triglids collected on that cruise to four species.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ecología Tropical (CIBET)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

Biodiversity of Philippine marine fishes: A DNA barcode reference library based on voucher specimens

Abstract Accurate identification of fishes is essential for understanding their biology and to ensure food safety for consumers. DNA barcoding is an important tool because it can verify identifications of both whole and processed fishes that have had key morphological characters removed (e.g., filets, fish meal); however, DNA reference libraries are incomplete, and public repositories for sequence data contain incorrectly identified sequences. During a nine-year sampling program in the Philippines, a global biodiversity hotspot for marine fishes, we developed a verified reference library of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences for 2,525 specimens representing 984 species. Specimens were primarily purchased from markets, with additional diversity collected using rotenone or fishing gear. Species identifications were verified based on taxonomic, phenotypic, and genotypic data, and sequences are associated with voucher specimens, live-color photographs, and genetic samples catalogued at Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History. The Biodiversity of Philippine Marine Fishes dataset is released herein to increase knowledge of species diversity and distributions and to facilitate accurate identification of market fishes

Using standardized fish‐specific autonomous reef monitoring structures (FARMS) to quantify cryptobenthic fish communities

Abstract Biodiversity inventories and monitoring techniques for marine fishes often overlook small (<5 cm), bottom‐associated (‘cryptobenthic’) fishes, and few standardized, comparative assessments of cryptobenthic fish communities exist. We sought to develop a standardized, quantitative survey method for cryptobenthic fishes that permits their sampling across a variety of habitats and conditions. Fish‐specific autonomous reef monitoring structures (FARMS) are designed to sample cryptobenthic fishes using a suite of accessible and affordable materials. To generate a variety of microhabitats, FARMS consist of three layers of stacked PVC pipes in three different sizes, as well as a bottom and top level of loose PVC‐pipe fragments in a mesh basket. We deployed FARMS across a variety of habitats, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, mangroves, and soft‐bottom habitats across six locations (Hawai'i, Texas, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Curaçao). From shallow estuaries to coral reefs beyond 100 m depth, FARMS attracted distinct communities of native cryptobenthic fishes with strong site or habitat specificity. Comparing the FARMS to communities sampled with alternative methods (enclosed clove‐oil stations on coral reefs in Panama and oyster sampling units on oyster reefs in Texas) suggests that FARMS yield a subset of cryptobenthic fish species that are representative of those present on local coral and oyster reefs. While FARMS yield fewer individuals per sample, they are efficient sampling devices relative to the sampled area. We demonstrate that FARMS represent a useful tool for standardized collections of cryptobenthic fishes. While natural substrata are bound to yield more mature communities with a larger number of individuals and wider range of specialist species, the potential to deploy and retrieve FARMS in turbid environments, beyond regular SCUBA depth, and where fish collections using anaesthetics or ichthyocides are forbidden suggests that they are a valuable complementary technique to survey fishes in aquatic ecosystems. Deploying FARMS in locations and habitats where cryptobenthic fish communities have not been studied in detail may yield many valuable specimens of unknown or poorly known species

A DNA barcode reference library of French Polynesian shore fishes

International audienceThe emergence of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding opened new ways to study biological diversity, however, the completion of DNA barcode libraries is fundamental for such approaches to succeed. This dataset is a DNA barcode reference library (fragment of Cytochrome Oxydase I gene) for 2,190 specimens representing at least 540 species of shore fishes collected over 10 years at 154 sites across the four volcanic archipelagos of French Polynesia; the Austral, Gambier, Marquesas and Society Islands, a 5,000,000 km2 area. At present, 65% of the known shore fish species of these archipelagoes possess a DNA barcode associated with preserved, photographed, tissue sampled and cataloged specimens, and extensive collection locality data. This dataset represents one of the most comprehensive DNA barcoding efforts for a vertebrate fauna to date. Considering the challenges associated with the conservation of coral reef fishes and the difficulties of accurately identifying species using morphological characters, this publicly available library is expected to be helpful for both authorities and academics in various fields