An updated phylogeny of the redlip blenny genus Ophioblennius.

ABSTRACT

An updated molecular phylogeny of the blenny genus Ophioblennius, with a focus on two geographically disjunct morphotypes observed in Brazil, is presented. The analyses showed that specimens from the north-eastern Brazilian coast are the endemic redlip blenny Ophioblennius trinitatis, but specimens from the southern Brazilian coast are conspecific to an undescribed east Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea) species, previously unknown in Brazil. Possible explanations for this geographical pattern include natural larval dispersal and rafting across the Atlantic; an unknown ecological attribute that enabled this species to colonize southern Brazil; oil platforms as introduction vectors.