Phylogenetics and biogeography of the two-wing flyingfish (Exocoetidae:Exocoetus).
Two-wing flyingfish (Exocoetus spp.) are widely distributed, epipelagic, mid-trophic organisms that feed on zooplankton and are preyed upon by numerous predators (e.g., tunas, dolphinfish, tropical seabirds), yet an understanding of their speciation and systematics is lacking. As a model of epipelagic fish speciation and to investigate mechanisms that increase biodiversity, we studied the phylogeny and biogeography ofExocoetus, a highly abundant holoepipelagic fish taxon of the tropical open ocean. Morphological and molecular data were used to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships, species boundaries, and biogeographic patterns of the five putativeExocoetusspecies. We show that the most widespread species (E. volitans) is sister to all other species, and we find no evidence for cryptic species in this taxon. Sister relationship betweenE. monocirrhus(Indo-Pacific) andE. obtusirostris(Atlantic) indicates the Isthmus of Panama and/or Benguela Barrier may have played a role in their divergence via allopatric speciation. The sister speciesE. peruvianusandE. gibbosusare found in different regions of the Pacific Ocean; however, our molecular results do not show a clear distinction between these species, indicating recent divergence or ongoing gene flow. Overall, our phylogeny reveals that the most spatially restricted species are more recently derived, suggesting that allopatric barriers may drive speciation, but subsequent dispersal and range expansion may affect the distributions of species.
Department of Biological Sciences University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto ON Canada; Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Orthopedic Surgery Mayo Clinic Rochester MN USA.
Eric A
0000-0002-0777-7336
EA
Lewallen
Department of Biology San Diego State University San Diego CA USA.
Andrew J
AJ
Bohonak
University of St. Thomas St. Paul MN USA.
Carolina A
CA
Bonin
Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Orthopedic Surgery Mayo Clinic Rochester MN USA.
Andre J
AJ
van Wijnen
Southwest Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration La Jolla CA USA.
Robert L
RL
Pitman
Department of Biological Sciences University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto ON Canada.
Nathan R
NR
Lovejoy
cryptic speciation; epipelagic; species delimitation