| Abstract: | Aplochiton is a small genus of galaxiid fishes endemic to Patagonia and the Falkland Islands whose taxonomy is insufficiently resolved. Recent genetic analyses confirmed the existence of only two closely related species, Aplochiton taeniatus and Aplochiton zebra, while a third controversial species, Aplochiton marinus, remained lost to synonymy with A. taeniatus. Using an integrative taxonomy framework, we studied original samples and published sequences from a broad range in western Patagonia and the Falkland Islands, and generated robust species hypotheses based on single-locus (Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I; COI) species-delineation methods and known diagnostic morphological characters analyzed in a multivariate context. Results revealed three distinct evolutionary lineages that morphologically resemble, in important respects, existing nominal species descriptions. Interestingly, the lineage associated with A. marinus was unambiguously identifiable (100% accuracy) both from the genetic and morphological viewpoints. In contrast, the morphology of A. taeniatus and A. zebra overlapped substantially, mainly due to the high variability of A. taeniatus. Discriminant function analysis aided the identification of these species with 83.9% accuracy. Hence, for their unambiguous identification, genetic screening is needed. A. marinus has seldom been documented, and when recorded, it has always been found in sites with clear marine influence. It is possible that only A. marinus preserves a life cycle related to the sea akin to the hypothesized ancestral galaxiid. We did not find evidence of claimed diadromy in A. taeniatus or A. zebra, and, therefore, these should be regarded as freshwater species. Finally, a lack of phylogeographic patterns and overrepresentation of uncommon haplotypes suggested demographic expansions in recent evolutionary time, especially of A. zebra, in line with the hypothesis of large-scale range expansion and lineage spread in western Patagonia. |
