Phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships of northern Far Eastern phoxinin minnows, Phoxinus and Rhynchocypris (Pisces, Cyprinidae), as inferred from allozyme and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequence analyses

Analyses of allozyme (18 loci) and partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (1295 bp, 16S rRNA) support the classification of phoxinin minnows from the northern Far East into 2 genera of 8 species: Phoxinus phoxinus, Rhynchocypris oxycephalus, R. perenurus, R. czekanowskii, R. kumgangensis, R. semotilus, R. lagowskii and R. sp. (bergi ?). Although R. lagowskii from Japan and the Amur basin and R. sp. from Vladivostok region to Korea have been classified into a single species by many authors as R. lagowskii, they form separate clusters in both analyses, suggesting different specific status. Some R. oxycephalus and R. perenurus had the mtDNA haplotypes of R. lagowskii and R. czekanowskii, respectively, which probably indicates that local introgression of mtDNA occurred through inter-specific hybridization. Rhynchocypris forms a monophyletic cluster with dace genera Tribolodon and Pseudaspius, not with Phoxinus. Eurasian and American Phoxinus are suggested to be paraphyletic.