| Affiliation: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan;(2) Department of Zoology, National Science Museum, 3-23-1 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0073, Japan;(3) Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum & Institute, Chiba, Chiba, Japan;(4) Ishigaki Tropical Station, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Ishigaki, Japan;(5) Department of Applied Aquabiology, National Fisheries University, Shimonoseki, Japan;(6) Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan |
| Abstract: | We determined the complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial genomes for the three currently recognized species of ocean sunfish: Mola mola, Masturus lanceolatus, and Ranzania laevis (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae). Each genome contained the 37 genes as found in teleosts, with the typical gene order in teleosts. Bayesian, maximum-likelihood, and maximum-parsimony analyses were conducted with the data set comprising concatenated nucleotide sequences from 36 genes (excluding the ND6 gene) of three molids and four outgroups (three tetraodontiforms plus a caproid). The resultant trees supported monophyly of the Molidae and its intrarelationships ((Mola, Masturus), Ranzania), which were congruent with previous morphology-based hypotheses. |
