title: Shaken not stirred: A molecular contribution to the systematics of genus Mugil (Teleostei, Mugilidae).
abstract: With this work we addressed some molecular systematic issues within the Mugil cephalus species complex. Particular attention was paid to the debated situations of: (i) Mugil liza, occurring in partial sympatry with Mugil cephalus in the northwestern Atlantic, and (ii) Mugil platanus, considered by some authors a synonymy of the former species and distributed in the southwestern Atlantic. We sequenced 79 individuals of a 465-bp portion of the mitochondrial control region (CR) from 8 western Atlantic and 2 Mediterranean localities. In addition, all CR sequences available from GenBank for the studied taxa were added to our dataset, for a total of 323 individuals. Overall, 229 haplotypes corresponding to 8 divergent monophyletic lineages were detected. Results of phylogenetic analyses were consistent with the occurrence of past speciation events producing the observed lineages. Of these lineages, 7 correspond to cryptic species and one is constituted by M. liza and M. platanus. As a matter of fact, these 2 taxa constitute a single lineage within the M. cephalus species complex. However, individuals of M. liza/M. platanus lineage analyzed by means of the 18 mitochondrial markers available in GenBank exhibited a degree of genetic diversity consistent with highly divergent populations. Of the 8 lineages detected, the Mediterraean one (type locality) corresponds to M. cephalus; the lineage M. liza/M. platanus should be named M. liza, under the priority principle, and the left 6 lineages need formal description.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetic Ichthyology, University of Girona, Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heras
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Ferruccio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maltagliati
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetic Ichthyology, University of Girona, Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetic Ichthyology, University of Girona, Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: María Inés
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Roldán
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D010802:Phylogeny; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Mugil; cryptic species; historical demography; molecular phylogeny; systematics