Opening the Trojan horse: Phylogeny of Astyanax, two new genera, and resurrection of Psalidodon (Teleostei, Characidae)

GUILLERMO E. TERAN; BENITEZ, MAURICIO; MIRANDE, J. MARCOS

ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020

0024-4082

The freshwater fish genus Astyanax is one of the most diverse among the Characidae. The genus is defined by a combination of character states that are widely distributed in the Characidae. In addition, the genus has with the widest geographical distribution in the family, being found in a great variety of environments of the Neotropical region. Although phylogenetic relationships were treated only partially, many authors agree that the genus is not monophyletic. In this the contribution, we study the phylogenetic relationships of Astyanax in the context of the family Characidae, by combining morphological and molecular data. A total of 520 morphological characters, nine molecular markers, and 608 taxa are analysed, of which 98 belong to Astyanax. According to our results, Astyanax is not monophyletic. We recovered species attributed to Astyanax in different subfamilies: Gymnocharacinae (including the type species), Stevardiinae, and Tetragonopterinae. Among the species recovered in Gymnocharacinae, most (including the type species, the resurrected Psalidodon, and a new genus) were recovered in the Gymnocharacini, while the remaining ones were recovered in the Probolodini, (transferred to Deuterodon or a new genus).