First evidence of a landlocked reproducing population of the marine pejerrey Odontesthes argentinensis (Actinopterygii; Atherinopsidae)

COLAUTTI DARÍO; MIRANDA, L.; GONZÁLES CASTRO M; VILLANOVA GV; STRÜSSMANN C.A; MANCINI M

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2019

0022-1112

In South America, the order Atheriniformes includes the monophyletic genus Odontesthes with 20 species that inhabit freshwater, estuarine and coastal environments. Within this genus, there are two closely related species, O. argentinensis widely distributed in coastal and estuarine areas of the Atlantic Ocean, and O. bonariensis, found in inland and mixohaline waters. O. argentinensis, is known to foray in estuarine zones of riverine systems, particularly in conditions of elevated salinity, but to the best of our knowledge a landlocked, self-sustaining population has never been recorded. In this work, we examined the pejerrey population of La Salada de Pedro Luro Lake (SPL, Southeast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), to clarify their taxonomic identity. By means of integrative taxonomy based on traditional meristic, landmark-based morphometrics, and genetic techniques, it was found that the SPL pejerrey population represents a novel case of physiological and morphological adaptation of a marine pejerrey species to a landlocked environment and emphasizes the environmental plasticity of this group of fishes.