Comparable ages for the independent origins of electrogenesis in African and South American weakly electric fishes.

One of the most remarkable examples of convergent evolution among vertebrates is illustrated by the independent origins of an active electric sense in South American and African weakly electric fishes, the Gymnotiformes and Mormyroidea, respectively. These groups independently evolved similar complex systems for object localization and communication via the generation and reception of weak electric fields. While good estimates of divergence times are critical to understanding the temporal context for the evolution and diversification of these two groups, their respective ages have been difficult to estimate due to the absence of an informative fossil record, use of strict molecular clock models in previous studies, and/or incomplete taxonomic sampling. Here, we examine the timing of the origins of the Gymnotiformes and the Mormyroidea using complete mitogenome sequences and a parametric bayesian method for divergence time reconstruction. Under two different fossil-based calibration methods, we estimated similar ages for the independent origins of the Mormyroidea and Gymnotiformes. Our absolute estimates for the origins of these groups either slightly postdate, or just predate, the final separation of Africa and South America by continental drift. The most recent common ancestor of the Mormyroidea and Gymnotiformes was found to be a non-electrogenic basal teleost living more than 85 millions years earlier. For both electric fish lineages, we also estimated similar intervals (16-19 or 22-26 million years, depending on calibration method) between the appearance of electroreception and the origin of myogenic electric organs, providing rough upper estimates for the time periods during which these complex electric organs evolved de novo from skeletal muscle precursors. The fact that the Gymnotiformes and Mormyroidea are of similar age enhances the comparative value of the weakly electric fish system for investigating pathways to evolutionary novelty, as well as the influences of key innovations in communication on the process of species radiation.

Multiple invasions into freshwater by pufferfishes (teleostei: tetraodontidae): a mitogenomic perspective.

Pufferfishes of the Family Tetraodontidae are the most speciose group in the Order Tetraodontiformes and mainly inhabit coastal waters along continents. Although no members of other tetraodontiform families have fully discarded their marine lives, approximately 30 tetraodontid species spend their entire lives in freshwaters in disjunct tropical regions of South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. To investigate the interrelationships of tetraodontid pufferfishes and thereby elucidate the evolutionary origins of their freshwater habitats, we performed phylogenetic analysis based on whole mitochondrial genome sequences from 50 tetraodontid species and closely related species (including 31 newly determined sequences). The resulting phylogenies reveal that the family is composed of four major lineages and that freshwater species from the different continents are independently nested in two of the four lineages. A monophyletic origin of the use of freshwater habitats was statistically rejected, and ancestral habitat reconstruction on the resulting tree demonstrates that tetraodontids independently entered freshwater habitats in different continents at least three times. Relaxed molecular-clock Bayesian divergence time estimation suggests that the timing of these invasions differs between continents, occurring at 0-10 million years ago (MA) in South America, 17-38 MA in Central Africa, and 48-78 MA in Southeast Asia. These timings are congruent with geological events that could facilitate adaptation to freshwater habitats in each continent.

Low genetic differentiation between two geographically separated populations of demersal gadiform fishes in the Southern Hemisphere.

The distribution patterns of many fishes between the three continents (Africa, Australia, and South America) in the Southern Hemisphere have been uncovered to be influenced by mostly vicariance or historical dispersal. Although some demersal fishes with intercontinental distribution are suggested to be more influenced by current/recent dispersal, few genetic studies have been made for demersal fishes so far. To provide more information for such fishes, genetic divergence was analyzed for two pairs of gadiform species and subspecies distributed around Australasia and South America: the blue grenadier, Macruronus novaezelandiae (from New Zealand) and the Patagonian grenadier, M. magellanicus (from South America) as well as two subspecies of the southern blue whiting, Micromesistius australis pallidus (from New Zealand) and M. a. australis (from South America). The sequence analyses of two mitochondrial DNA regions showed no divergence between Australasian and South American populations of the grenadiers and the southern blue whiting. The microsatellite DNA analysis also indicated significant but very minimal genetic differentiation between the two geographic populations of each pair. These results imply rather recent separation of the two geographic populations. Current/recent dispersal may be an important common factor for determining the distribution of demersal fishes in the Southern Hemisphere. Nonetheless, low but significant genetic differentiation observed requires treating the two populations of the economically important grenadiers and southern blue whiting, respectively, as different stocks for proper resource management.