Cytogenetic and Molecular Data Demonstrate that the Bryconinae (Ostariophysi, Bryconidae) Species from Southeastern Brazil Form a Phylogenetic and Phylogeographic Unit.

Brycon spp. occur in Neotropical watersheds to the west and east of the Andes, and as they are sensitive to anthropogenic changes, many these species are endangered in southeastern Brazil. Coastal rivers in southeastern Brazil are characterized by the presence of relatively few freshwater fish species and high endemism of this fauna. The objective of this study was to examine whether Brycon spp. occurring in the coastal basins of southeastern Brazil are monophyletic, using cytogenetic data, mitochondrial, and nuclear molecular markers. All the species showed a diploid number of 50 chromosomes, a conserved number within the subfamily Bryconinae. However, the karyotypic formulas were unique to most species, including Brycon devillei (26m+22sm+2st), Brycon ferox (26m+12sm+12st), Brycon insignis (22m+20sm+8st), Brycon opalinus, and Brycon vermelha (24m+20sm+6st), indicating the prevalence of pericentric and paracentric inversions in the chromosomal evolution of these species. All of them had nucleolar organizer regions in the first pair of subtelocentric chromosomes and no equilocal distribution of heterochromatin in the first pair of chromosomes of the karyotype. These two features, not seen in any other Brycon spp. examined to date, indicate that Bryconinae species from the Brazilian southeastern coastal basins, including the monotypic genus Henochilus, are monophyletic. Also, this is the first study that reports NOR location and C-banding patterns as synapomorphies for a Neotropical fish species group. The monophyly was also supported by a phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA (16S), cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), alpha-myosin (MYH6) genes and S72 intron molecular data. Our results partially corroborate the "Brycon acuminatus" group proposed by Howes in 1982: our proposed clade keeps B. devillei, B. ferox, and B. insignis; but it also includes B. opalinus, B. vermelha, and H. weatlandii whereas it excludes B. nattereri. The phylogeographic unit formed by Bryconinae species in southeastern Brazil reflects the long and isolated paleohydrological history of these coastal basins relative to the continental watersheds.

Evolutionary divergence among Oligosarcus spp. (Ostariophysi, Characidae) from the São Francisco and Doce River basins: Oligosarcus solitarius Menezes, 1987 shows the highest rates of chromosomal evolution in the Neotropical Region.

The Doce River, in southeastern Brazil, is a coastal drainage, configured since the Late Cretaceous, when South America separated from Africa. Of the 77 native fish species of the Doce River Basin, 37 are potentially endangered-Oligosarcus solitarius, Menezes 1987, is the only endemic species of the quaternary lakes in the middle portion of this drainage and Oligosarcus argenteus, Günther 1864, is distributed in the Doce River channel and headwaters. This study characterizes the morphological, cytogenetic, and mitochondrial DNA variation in the Oligosarcus spp. populations from the Doce and São Francisco River Basins. The principal component analysis indicates three morphological groups. Cytogenetic data corroborate existence of the O. solitarius and O. argenteus fish species in the Doce River Basin, with high levels of population cytogenetic polymorphism. Taking into consideration the Pleistocene-Holocene formation of the lacustrine system in the middle Doce River, with low molecular differentiation and high levels of chromosomal variation among the O. solitarius populations, we concluded that O. solitarius has the highest rate of chromosomal evolution observed in Neotropical freshwater fishes. The morphological and cytogenetic patterns of the Oligosarcus sp. population collected at the Das Velhas River headwaters suggest that it may represent an undescribed species.

The unique karyotype of Henochilus wheatlandii, a critically endangered fish living in a fast-developing region in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

Henochilus wheatlandii, the only species of this genus, is critically endangered and was considered extinct for over a century. The rediscovery of this fish in 1996 made it possible to study its phylogenetic relationships with other species in the subfamily Bryconinae. The aim of this study was to characterise the karyotype of H. wheatlandii. Standard staining, C-positive heterochromatin and nucleolar organiser region (NOR) banding, chromomycin A(3) staining, and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) using 5S rDNA and 18S rDNA probes were conducted on nineteen specimens collected in the Santo Antonio River, a sub-basin of the Doce River in Ferros municipality, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Henochilus wheatlandii shared the same diploid number and chromosome morphology as other species of Bryconinae. However, its heterochromatin distribution patterns, NOR localisation, and FISH patterns revealed a cytogenetic profile unique among Neotropical Bryconinae, emphasizing the evolutionary uniqueness of this threatened species.

Plagioscion squamosissimus (Sciaenidae) and Parachromis managuensis (Cichlidae): a threat to native fishes of the Doce River in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The middle section of the lake basin of the Doce River in Minas Gerais State, Brazil is plagued by grave environmental problems, including the introduction of non-native fish, which reduces the biodiversity of this region. This study reports the presence of two newly-detected non-native species in the Doce River Basin. Sampling efforts included gill nets with mesh size of 3 to 12 mm (measured diagonally) and trawling nets, both of which were used in independent field campaigns in 2002 and 2011. The two new invasive Perciform fishes, Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel 1840) and Parachromis managuensis (Günther 1867) were collected in Caratinga and Rio Doce municipalities. These records and other reports on non-native fishes suggest favorable environmental conditions for the establishment of invasive species in this drainage. These invasive species have behavior and diet observed in other wide distribution exotic fish of Rio Doce Basin representing a threat to the 77 native fishes of this region, 37 of which are endangered.