Phylogeny and species boundaries in the gobiid genus Gnatholepis (Teleostei: Perciformes)

Species of the goby genus Gnatholepis Bleeker, 1874, are common inhabitants of shallow tropical seas worldwide. In this study, mitochondrial DNA sequence (ND2 gene), from 349 Gnatholepis individuals sampled from across the South and Central Pacific and Caribbean, is used to infer phylogeny and determine species boundaries. Seven species of Gnatholepis are recognized: the Indo-Pacific G. anjerensis (Bleeker, 1851) G. cauerensis (Bleeker, 1853) is a synonym]; G. scapulostigma Herre, 1953; G. davaoensis Seale, 1910; G. knighti Jordan & Evermann, 1903; G. gymnocara Randall & Greenfield, 2001; G.  sp. Randall & Greenfield, 2001; and the Atlantic/Caribbean G. thompsoni Jordan, 1904. Results from the molecular phylogeny are compared with a previous morphology-based revision of the genus in order to establish which morphological characters diagnose species in correspondence with the molecular phylogeny.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 142 , 573–582.