Phylogeny and evolutionary history of birch mice Sicista Griffith, 1827 (Sminthidae,Rodentia): Implications from a multigene study

Phylogeny of birch mice is estimated using sequences of ten nuclear genes and one mitochondrial gene. Based on the results of tree reconstructions and molecular dating, five major lineages are recognized: “tianschanica,” “concolor,” “caudata,” “betulina,” and “caucasica.” It is established that the three latter lineages constitute a clade and that the long‐tailed birch mouse Sicista caudata is the sister group of the “caucasica” lineage. The “tianschanica” lineage is placed as the sister branch to all other species, however, with insufficient support. The cytochrome b tree is generally concordant with the nuclear topology. The molecular clock results suggest that the radiation among the main lineages occurred in the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene (6.0–4.7 Mya). The correspondence between molecular dating and the fossil record is discussed. Based on nuclear data, a high level of divergence between cryptic species in the “tianschanica” lineage is confirmed. Mitochondrial and nuclear data suggest the existence of a potential cryptic species within Sicista strandi.     

Multilocus phylogeny and species delimitation within the genus Glauconycteris (Chiroptera,Vespertilionidae), with the description of a new bat species from the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The genus Glauconycteris Dobson, 1875 currently contains 12 species of butterfly bats, all endemic to sub‐Saharan Africa. Most species are rarely recorded, with half of the species known from less than six geographic localities. The taxonomic status of several species remains problematic. Here, we studied the systematics of butterfly bats using both morphological and molecular approaches. We examined 45 adult specimens for external anatomy and skull morphology, and investigated the phylogeny of Glauconycteris using DNA sequences from three mitochondrial genes and 116 individuals, which in addition to outgroup taxa, included nine of the twelve butterfly bat species currently recognized. Four additional nuclear genes were sequenced on a reduced sample of 69 individuals, covering the outgroup and Glauconycteris species. Our molecular results show that the genus Glauconycteris is monophyletic, and that it is the sister‐group of the Asian genus Hesperoptenus. Molecular dating estimates based on either Cytb or RAG2 data sets suggest that the ancestor of Glauconycteris migrated into Africa from Asia during the Tortonian age of the Late Miocene (11.6–7.2 Mya), while the basal diversification of the crown group occurred in Africa at around 6 ± 2 Mya. The species G. superba is found to be the sister‐group of G. variegata, questioning its placement in the recently described genus Niumbaha. The small species living in tropical rainforests constitute a robust clade, which contains three divergent lineages: (i) the “poensis” group, which is composed of G. poensis, G. alboguttata, G. argentata, and G. egeria; (ii) the “beatrix” group, which contains G. beatrix and G. curryae; and (iii) the “humeralis” group, which includes G. humeralis and a new species described herein. In the “poensis” group, G. egeria is found to be monophyletic in the nuclear tree, but polyphyletic in the mitochondrial tree. The reasons for this mito‐nuclear discordance are discussed.     

Phylogeography of the pharaoh cuttle Sepia pharaonis based on partial mitochondrial 16S sequence data

The pharaoh cuttle Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831 (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Sepiida) is a broadly distributed species of substantial fisheries importance found from east Africa to southern Japan. Little is known about S. pharaonis phylogeography, but evidence from morphology and reproductive biology suggests that Sepia pharaonis is actually a complex of at least three species. To evaluate this possibility, we collected tissue samples from Sepia pharaonis from throughout its range. Phylogenetic analyses of partial mitochondrial 16S sequences from these samples reveal five distinct clades: a Gulf of Aden/Red Sea clade, a northern Australia clade, a Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea clade, a western Pacific clade (Gulf of Thailand and Taiwan) and an India/Andaman Sea clade. Phylogenetic analyses including several Sepia species show that S. pharaonis sensu lato may not be monophyletic. We suggest that “S. pharaonis” may consist of up to five species, but additional data will be required to fully clarify relationships within the S. pharaonis complex.     

Life history strategies of four small-size fishes in the Suez Canal, Egypt

Of 35 species collected from the shores of the Suez Canal and its lakes, five were abundant year round. Sihouettea aegyptia and Aphanius dispar are of Red Sea (warm water) origin, whereas Pomatoschistus marmoratus, Aphanius fasciatus and Atherina boyeri are Mediterranean species. S. aegyptia and A. dispar are distributed throughout the Suez system whereas A. fasciatus is restricted to the northern canal. P. marmoratus and A. boyeri have not spread southward beyond the Bitter Lakes. Salinity is the main limiting factor for the distribution of Mediterranean species. S. aegyptia and A. dispar are dominant in the Bitter Lakes (salinity 44‰), whereas P. marmoratus and A. boyeri are abundant in Timsah Lake (salinity 7·8–41·6‰). There was considerable interannual and monthly variation in the relative abundance of each species. The populations were dominated by a single age group, and life spans were no more than 2 years. Rapid growth was evident during the first spring in P. marmoratus and A. boyeri and during the first summer, early autumn in S. aegyptia and A. dispar . The relative abundance of each food item in the diet varied with fish size and season. S. aegyptia, P. marmoratus and A. dispar fed mostly on harpacticoid copepods, polychaetes, demersal eggs, diatoms and blue-green algae whereas A. boyeri fed mostly on planktonic copepods. The warm water species are summer spawners, whereas the temperate species are autumn-winter spawners.     

Seascape genetics along environmental gradients in the Arabian Peninsula: insights from ddRAD sequencing of anemonefishes

Understanding the processes that shape patterns of genetic structure across space is a central aim of landscape genetics. However, it remains unclear how geographical features and environmental variables shape gene flow, particularly for marine species in large complex seascapes. Here, we evaluated the genomic composition of the two‐band anemonefish Amphiprion bicinctus across its entire geographical range in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as its close relative, Amphiprion omanensis endemic to the southern coast of Oman. Both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea are complex and environmentally heterogeneous marine systems that provide an ideal scenario to address these questions. Our findings confirm the presence of two genetic clusters previously reported for A. bicinctus in the Red Sea. Genetic structure analyses suggest a complex seascape configuration, with evidence of both isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by environment (IBE). In addition to IBD and IBE, genetic structure among sites was best explained when two barriers to gene flow were also accounted for. One of these coincides with a strong oligotrophic–eutrophic gradient at around 16–20?N in the Red Sea. The other agrees with a historical bathymetric barrier at the straight of Bab al Mandab. Finally, these data support the presence of interspecific hybrids at an intermediate suture zone at Socotra and indicate complex patterns of genomic admixture in the Gulf of Aden with evidence of introgression between species. Our findings highlight the power of recent genomic approaches to resolve subtle patterns of gene flow in marine seascapes.     

Morphology and molecules reveal two new species of Porites (Scleractinia,Poritidae) from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden

Two new reef coral species, Porites farasani sp. nov. and Porites hadramauti sp. nov. (Scleractinia, Poritidae), are described from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Porites farasani sp. nov. only occurs in the Farasan Islands in the southern Red Sea, while P. hadramauti sp. nov. has been collected in the Yemen Hadramaut region in the Gulf of Aden. Both species presented striking in situ differences with respect to other Porites species, and were characterized by small encrusting colonies and unusual polyp colouration. In order to test the genetic distinctiveness of P. farasani sp. nov. and P. hadramauti sp. nov. between each other and with respect to other representatives in the genus Porites, we investigated their evolutionary relationships with eight other morphological species of Porites occurring in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden. Two DNA loci, the mitochondrial putative control region and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region, were sequenced, and three species delimitation approaches based on barcoding threshold (Automated Barcoding Gap Discovery) and coalescence theory (Poisson-Tree process, Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent) were applied. Phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses were overall concordant, resolving P. farasani sp. nov. and P. hadramauti sp. nov. as two divergent but closely related lineages. Of the other morphologically defined Porites species, three were genetically differentiated (P. rus, P. columnaris and P. fontanesii), but five were genetically indistinguishable. The discovery of two regional endemics confirms the importance of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as regions of high biodiversity and suggests the need for an integration of genome-wide molecular data with the re-evaluation of skeletal structures in the systematics of Porites.     

Untersuchungen zur Zoogeographie der Euphausiaceen (Crustacea) des Roten Meeres

A joint programme on “Biota of the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean” has been carried out by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Smithsonian Institution of Washington between 1967 and 1972 in order to study the role played by the Suez Canal as a route for faunal exchanges between the Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. The euphausiids of this material have been examined and additional samples of zooplankton have been taken in the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) in 1973 in order to study the vertical distribution of the euphausiids. Four species have been found to occur in the Northern Red Sea and the Gulf of Elat:Euphausia diomedeae, E. sanzoi, Stylocheiron affine andS. abbreviatum. Seven species were found in the Eastern Mediterranean of whichEuphausia brevis is the dominant species. The present studies revealed that an exchange of Euphausiacea through the Suez Canal does not take place. The species of the Red Sea belong to the Indopacific fauna. Despite the particular historic-geographical and ecological situation of the Red Sea, no endemisms or subspecies have evolved there within the Euphausiacea.     

Live and dead benthic foraminiferal assemblages from coastal environments of the Aegean Sea (Greece): Distribution and diversity

Benthic foraminiferal composition assemblages and their temporal changes, ecological indices and foraminiferal densities are used to compare three coastal environments with different physicogeographical features in the Aegean Sea (coastal environment of Avdira–Vistonikos Gulf and Kitros–Thermaikos Gulf and open lagoonal environment of Vravron–South Evoikos Gulf). Three main foraminiferal assemblages have been recognized: a) “Assemblage A”; high degree of similarity between living and dead foraminiferal species, dominated by Ammonia beccarii, Elphidium spp. and relatively abundant and diverse miliolids, b) “Assemblage B1”; intermediate degree of similarity between live and dead assemblages, characterized by highly-abundant and well-diversified foraminiferal assemblages including the algal symbiont bearing Peneroplis pertusus together with Ammonia tepida and several small epiphytic rotaliids and miliolids, and c) “Assemblage B2”; absence of living individuals, strongly dominated by the opportunistic species A. tepida. Our results suggest a good comparison between living and dead assemblages from different coastal environments in the Aegean Sea, however the prevailing environmental conditions (vegetation cover, hydrodynamics, fresh water influx) have a strong impact on the taphonomic processes.     

Erratum to: Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Stevia (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae): an example of diversification in the Asteraceae in the new world

The genus Stevia comprises approximately 200 species, which are distributed in North and South America, and are representative of the species diversity of the Asteraceae in the New World. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships using sequences of ITS and cpDNA and estimated the divergence times of the major clade of this genus. Our results suggested that Stevia originated in Mexico 7.0–7.3 million years ago (Mya). Two large clades, one with shrub species and another with herb species, were separated at about 6.6 Mya. The phylogenetic reconstruction suggested that an ancestor of Stevia was a small shrub in temperate pine–oak forests and the evolutionary change from a shrub state to a herb state occurred only once. A Brazilian clade was nested in a Mexican herb clade, and its origin was estimated to be 5.2 Mya, suggesting that the migration from North America to South America occurred after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The species diversity in Mexico appears to reflect the habitat diversity within the temperate pine–oak forest zone. The presence of many conspecific diploid–polyploid clades in the phylogenetic tree reflects the high frequency of polyploidization among the perennial Stevia species.

     

Phylogenetics and biogeography of the parasitic genus Thesium L. (Santalaceae), with an emphasis on the Cape of South Africa

Thesium is a large genus of parasitic shrubs belonging to tribe Thesieae of Santalaceae. It has a principally Old World distribution, with the greatest diversity being found in southern Africa. Little is known about the relationships within Thesium or its relationships with its closest relatives. In this article, we present a first estimate of species‐level phylogenetic relationships in Thesium based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and trnL–trnF sequence data, and use this to explore the biogeographical history of the group. One hundred and four samples representing 72 Thesium spp. were included in a phylogenetic analysis. Plastid and combined data resolve Thesium as paraphyletic relative to Thesidium and Austroamericium with high posterior probability and bootstrap support. ITS sequence data place Thesidium as sister to a large Thesium clade, but with weak support. Ancestral range reconstruction and dating analysis suggest a southern African origin for the group, with a crown age of 39.1 ± 11.9 Mya, followed by dispersal into Europe and South America. A large clade of Cape species split in the Miocene from a clade comprising tropical species (25.5 ± 7.3 Mya) with the diversification of extant species beginning at 16.7 ± 6.3 Mya. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 162 , 435–452.     

First record of Pristipomoides multidens (Day, 1871) from the Gulf of Aqaba,with a note on the species of Pristipomoides in the Red Sea (Actinopterygii: Lutjanidae)

The snapper Pristipomoides multidens is reported for the first time from the Gulf of Aqaba. A comparison of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) with available data revealed a high similarity with a sample from Mauritius and a lower similarity with samples from the China Sea. The status and distribution of the Red Sea species of Pristipomoides are summarised.     

Spatial distribution of fifty ornamental fish species on coral reefs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

The spatial distribution of 50 ornamental fish species from shallow water habitats on coral reefs were investigated using visual census techniques, between latitudes 11−29°N in the Red Sea, in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, and in the adjacent Gulf of Aden in Djibouti. One hundred eighteen transects (each 100×5 m) were examined in 29 sites (3−8 sites per country). A total of 522,523 fish individuals were counted during this survey, with mean abundance of 4428.2 ± 87.26 individual per 500 m² transect. In terms of relative abundance (RA), the most abundant species were Blue green damselfish, Chromis viridis (RA=54.4%),followed bySea goldie, Pseudanthias squamipinnis (RA= 34.7), Whitetail dascyllus, Dascyllus aruanus (RA= 2.6%), Marginate dascyllus, Dascyllus marginatus (RA= 2.0),Red Sea eightline flasher Paracheilinus octotaenia (RA=1.0),andKlunzinger’s wrasse, Thalassoma rueppellii (0.7%). The highest number of species (S) per 500 m² transect was found on reefs at the latitude 20° in Saudi Arabia (S=21.8), and the lowest number of species was found at the latitude 15° in Djibouti (S=11.11). The highest mean abundance (8565.8) was found on reefs at latitude 20° in Saudi Arabia and the lowest mean abundance (230) was found on reefs at latitude 22°, also in Saudi Arabia. Whereas, the highest Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index was found in reefs at the latitude 22° (H`=2.4) and the lowest was found in reefs at the latitude 20° (H`=0.6). This study revealed marked differences in the structure of ornamental fish assemblages with latitudinal distribution. The data support the presence of two major biogeographic groups of fishes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden group and the group in the northern and central Red Sea. Strong correlations were found between live coral cover and the number of fish species, abundance and Shannon-Wiener Diversity indices, and the strength of these correlations varied among the reefs. A conclusion was done that environmental differences among the reefs and the habitats investigated were important components of abundance variations and species diversity of ornamental fish along latitudinal gradients in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.     

Trichocytes in Lithophyllum kotschyanum and Lithophyllum spp. (Corallinales,Rhodophyta) from the NW Indian Ocean

The current diagnosis of the genus Lithophyllum includes absent or rare trichocyte occurrence. After examining holotype material, single trichocytes have been revealed to occur abundantly in Lithophyllum kotschyanum Unger, and in freshly collected specimens of Lithophyllum spp. from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Socotra Island (Yemen). Trichocyte occurrence is not considered a diagnostic character at specific or supraspecific levels in the Lithophylloideae, and the ecological significance of trichocyte formation is discussed. The generitype species, L. incrustans Philippi, does not show trichocytes nor do many other Lithophyllum species from diverse geographic localities, but the presence of abundant trichocytes in other congeneric taxa requires emendation of the genus diagnosis. Therefore, the diagnosis of Lithophyllum is here emended by eliminating the adjective “rare” in the sentence concerning trichocyte occurrence, as follows: “Trichocytes present or absent, if present occurring singly.”     

Length–weight and length‐length relationships for four freshwater fish species from Gölbaşı Lake (Hatay), Turkey

Length–weight and length–length relationships are presented for four freshwater fish species [Liza abu (Heckel, 1843), Aphanius mento (Heckel, 1843), Oxynoemacheilus hamwii (Krupp & Schneider, 1991) and Chondrostoma kinzelbachi Krupp, 1985] captured in Gölba?? Lake, Hatay, Anatolia. No information regarding length–weight relationships was reported previously in FishBase for C. kinzelbachi, A. mento and O. hamwii. Specimens were obtained from January to May 2012 using electrofishing and cast nets. This study presents the first study on LWR data for C. kinzelbachi, A. mento and O. hamwii.     

Closing of the Tethys Sea and the phylogeny of Eurasian killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes: Cyprinodontidae)

To test vicariant speciation hypotheses derived from geological evidence of the closing of the Tethys Sea, we reconstruct phylogenetic relationships of the predominantly fresh-water killifish genus Aphanius using 3263 aligned base pairs of mitochondrial DNA from samples representing 49 populations of 13 species. We use additional 11 cyprinodontid species as outgroup taxa. Genes analysed include those encoding the partial 12S and 16S ribosomal RNAs; transfer RNAs for valine, leucine, isoleucine, glutamine, methionine, tryptophan, alanine, asparagine, cysteine and tyrosine; and complete nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit I and II. Molecular substitution rate for this DNA region is estimated at of 8.6 +/- 0.1 x 10(-9) substitutions base pair(-1) year(-1), and is derived from a well dated transgression of the Red Sea into the Wadi Sirhan of Jordan 13 million years ago; an alternate substitution rate of 1.1 +/- 0.2 x 10(-8) substitutions base pair(-1) year(-1) is estimated from fossil evidence. Aphanius forms two major clades which correspond to the former eastern and western Tethys Sea. Within the eastern clade Oligocene divergence into a fresh-water clade inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula and an euhaline clade inhabiting coastal area from Pakistan to Somalia is observed. Within the western Tethys Sea clade we observe a middle Oligocene divergence into Iberian Peninsula and Atlas Mountains, and Turkey and Iran sections. Within Turkey we observe a large amount of genetic differentiation correlated with late Miocene orogenic events. Based on concordance of patterns of phylogenetic relationships and area relationships derived from geological and fossil data, as well as temporal congruence of these patterns, we support a predominantly vicariant-based speciation hypothesis for the genus Aphanius. An exception to this pattern forms the main clade of A. fasciatus, an euhaline circum-Mediterranean species, which shows little genetic differentiation or population structuring, thus providing no support for the hypothesis of vicariant differentiation associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The two phylogenetically deepest events were also likely driven by ecological changes associated with the closing of the Tethys Sea.     

rDNA analysis of the Red Sea seagrass,Halophila, reveals vicariant evolutionary diversification

The effects of opening the Suez Canal as a connection between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea were reported for a number of marine species. However, the evolutionary origin of the seagrasses in the Red Sea and the linking population genetics of seagrasses between the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have not yet been investigated in detail. The invasion of Halophila stipulacea Asch. from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea after the opening of the Suez Canal was already recorded. We hypothesize that Halophila ovalis populations in the Red Sea developed through long-term historical processes such as vicariant evolutionary diversification. Seagrass samples were collected along the Egyptian coastline of the Red Sea and analysed by the molecular marker ITS. The sequences were compared with published ITS sequences from seagrasses collected in the whole area of interest. In this study, we reveal the linking population genetics, phylogeography and phylogenetics of two dominant seagrass species, Halophila stipulacea and Halophila ovalis, among species collected in the Red Sea and worldwide. The results indicate that the Red Sea Halophila ovalis populations do not group to Halophila ovalis worldwide, and Halophila major, Halophila ovalis collected worldwide and Halophila ovalis collected at the Red Sea are sister clades. Hence, vicariant evolutionary diversification for Halophila ovalis may occur in the Red Sea.     

New record of Ptarmus gallus Kossmann & Räuber, 1877 from the northern Red Sea (Teleostei: Aploactinidae), with a redescription of the species

The aploactinid fish Ptarmus gallus is redescribed and recorded from the Gulf of Suez (Egypt) for the first time. The species is apparently endemic to the Red Sea. Identification keys to the genera of aploactinid fishes, and to species of the genus Ptarmus are presented.     

Phylogeny of Mysis (Crustacea, Mysida): history of continental invasions inferred from molecular and morphological data

We studied the phylogenetic history of opossum shrimps of the genus Mysis Latreille, 1802 (Crustacea: Mysida) using parsimony analyses of morphological characters, DNA sequence data from mitochondrial (16S, COI and CytB) and nuclear genes (ITS2, 18S), and eight allozyme loci. With these data we aimed to resolve a long‐debated question of the origin of the non‐marine (continental) taxa in the genus, i.e., “glacial relicts” in circumpolar postglacial lakes and “arctic immigrants” in the Caspian Sea. A simultaneous analysis of the data sets gave a single tree supporting monophyly of all continental species, as well as monophyly of the taxa from circumpolar lakes and from the Caspian Sea. A clade of three circumarctic marine species was sister group to the continental taxa, whereas Atlantic species had more distant relationships to the others. Small molecular differentiation among the morphologically diverse endemic species from the Caspian Sea suggested their recent speciation, while the phenotypically more uniform “glacial relict” species from circumpolar lakes (Mysis relicta group) showed deep molecular divergences. For the length‐variable ITS2 region both direct optimization and a priori alignment procedures gave similar topologies, although the former approach provided a better overall resolution. In terms of partitioned Bremer support (PBS), mitochondrial protein coding genes provided the largest contribution (83%) to the total tree resolution. This estimate however, appears to be partly spurious, due to the concerted inheritance of mitochondrial characters and probable cases of introgression or ancestral polymorphism. © The Willi Hennig Society 2005.     

The microcopepod fauna in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea: species diversity and distribution of Oncaeidae (Poecilostomatoida)

A total of 23 species and three groups of form variants of oncaeidcopepods have been identified, which were collected in smallmesh net samples taken along a transect from the northernmostRed Sea (>27°N) to the Gulf of Aqaba down to a maximumdepth of 800 m. Two of the species were present only in theRed Sea main basin, but were not recorded in the Gulf. By comparingthe present results with previously published data from thecentral and southern Red Sea a first assessment of the zoogeographicaldistribution of Oncaeidae in the entire Red Sea has been achieved.The species diversity of Oncaeidae in the Gulf of Aqaba appearsto be considerably lower compared to the southern Red Sea, where31 oncaeid species and four groups of form variants have beenfound. The observed latitudinal gradient in species numbersof Oncaeidae generally corresponds to the gradients observedfor various other zooplankton taxa in the Red Sea. First dataon the vertical distribution of oncaeid species in the Gulfare provided.