Combined phylogeny and subfamilial classification of the Characidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)

MIRANDE, JUAN MARCOS

Londrina

Simposio; II International Symposium on Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes; 2017

Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia / Universidade Estadual de Londrina

This is the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Characidae to date and the first large-scale hypothesis in the family combining molecular and morphological data. A morphological dataset of 262 examined species coded for 520 characters is combined with a molecular dataset of eight markers mostly composed of published DNA sequences. Almost 100 of those characters are new definitions. A total of 473 species are analyzed by parsimony under equal and extended implied weighting. The final hypothesis was chosen using a stability criterion and it was found by weighting molecular characters with the average homoplasy of entire blocks of data (genes). Results are rather congruent with previous molecular phylogenies of the family. The Characidae, restricted to the species lacking a supraorbital, are obtained as monophyletic with four main clades composed, respectively, of the Spintherobolus and relatives, an expanded Stethaprioninae including the tribes Gymnocharacini, Probolodini, and Stethaprionini, the Stevardiinae, and a clade composed of the Aphyocharacinae, Characinae, Cheirodontinae, Tetragonopterinae, and Exodon and relatives. Also, a ?stem? Characidae is found, as formed by the Eocene-Oligocene genera ?Bryconetes and ?Paleotetra. The classification of the Characidae still need much data and work to get anoverall stable classification and monophyletic genera but, given the congruence of these results with previous molecular hypotheses and considering that the main direction in the generation of new information most probably will face towards molecules, this subfamilial classification could be presumed to be stable by the near future.