Open AccessPhylogenetic relationships of the Sparidae (Teleostei: Percoidei) and implications for convergent trophic evolution
Author(s) -
DAY JULIA J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2002.tb02088.x
Subject(s) - biology , monophyly , phylogenetic tree , convergent evolution , taxon , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , zoology , trophic level , ecomorphology , sparidae , clade , ecology , habitat , fish <actinopterygii> , genetics , gene , fishery
A phylogenetic analysis of the majority of sparid genera and representatives of the sparoid families Centracanthi‐dae, Lethrinidae and Nemipteridae is presented using 87 predominately osteological characters. The Sparidae constitute a monophyletic grouping, with the inclusion of the centracanthid Spicara smarts, which nests deep within the ingroup. The phylogeny was then used to investigate agreement with the most recent molecular study, taxo‐nomic stability of subfamilial classification and the evolution of feeding strategies. Results show that the incongruence between morphological and molecular data appears largely to be an artifact of errors in rooting. However, there appears to be real and substantial conflict between the molecular tree and the morphological data, which is not attributable to the different positions of the least congruent taxa. The data support the molecular hypothesis that none of the subfamilial classification, based on dentition and trophic specialization, is monophyletic, and should be rejected pending further taxonomic Révision. The phylogeny supports multiple independent origins of trophic types and it is suggested that the evolutionary plasticity of the oral teeth of sparids has been fundamental to the adaptive radiation of this family compared to their closest allies.