title: Systematics of the grey mullets (Teleostei: Mugiliformes: Mugilidae): molecular phylogenetic evidence challenges two centuries of morphology-based taxonomy.
abstract: The family Mugilidae comprises mainly coastal marine species that are widely distributed in all tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. Mugilid species are generally considered to be ecologically important and they are a major food resource for human populations in certain parts of the world. The taxonomy and systematics of the Mugilidae are still much debated and based primarily on morphological characters. In this study, we provide the first comprehensive molecular systematic account of the Mugilidae using phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequence variation at three mitochondrial loci (16S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase I, and cytochrome b) for 257 individuals from 55 currently recognized species. The study covers all 20 mugilid genera currently recognized as being valid. The family comprises seven major lineages that radiated early on from the ancestor to all current forms. All genera that were represented by two species or more, except Cestraeus, turned out to be paraphyletic or polyphyletic. Thus, the present phylogenetic results generally disagree with the current taxonomy at the genus level and imply that the anatomical characters used for the systematics of the Mugilidae may be poorly informative phylogenetically. The present results should provide a sound basis for a taxonomic revision of the mugilid genera. A proportion of the species with large distribution ranges (including Moolgarda seheli, Mugil cephalus and M. curema) appear to consist of cryptic species, thus warranting further taxonomic and genetic work at the infra-generic level.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 5119 ECOSYM, Université Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France. jean-dominique.durand@ird.fr
authors.forename: J-D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.forename: K-N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: W-J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Jamandre
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Blel
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Diop
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nirchio
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Garcia de León
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Whitfield
authors.forename: C-W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borsa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial