Parsimony analysis of endemicity of enchodontoid fishes from the Cenomanian

Parsimony analysis of endemicity was applied to analyze the distribution of enchodontoid fishes occurring strictly in the Cenomanian. The analysis was carried out using the computer program PAUP* 4.0b10, based on a data matrix built with 17 taxa and 12 areas. The rooting was made on an hypothetical all-zero outgroup. Applying the exact algorithm branch and bound, 47 trees were obtained with 26 steps, a consistency index of 0.73, and a retention index of 0.50. The topology found with a majority rule consensus was: ((Mexico) + (United States) + (Morocco + Italy) + (Lebanon + Israel) + (Italy-Slovenia) + (Brazil)) + (D.R. Congo) + (Sweden) + (Germany) + (England). The procedure delimited two areas of endemism in the Tethys Ocean. They are Morocco and southern Italy and Lebanon and Israel. The area of endemism formed by Morocco + Italy represents the North African region of the Tethys Ocean, and that formed by Lebanon + Israel is in the mid-Tethyan Ocean. Our results are in partial agreement with the patterns of geographical distribution of certain invertebrate biota.