DNA barcoding and phylogeography of the Hoplias malabaricus species complex

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Karen Larissa Auzier Guimarães, Marcos Prado Lima, Diego José Santana, Mendelsohn Fujiie Belém de Souza, Rômulo Sarmento Barbosa, Luís Reginaldo Ribeiro Rodrigues
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2022
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09121-z; https://doaj.org/article/c23b3ec8835e4483a9c60ca2b7dfae5b

Abstract Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch, 1794) is a carnivorous fish species widely distributed from northern to southern South America. This taxon is believed to be a good model for the investigation of biogeographic events that shape the ichthyofauna evolution in the Neotropical freshwater systems. However, many studies have revealed that H. malabaricus hides a species complex that hampers its taxonomic identity and limit its practical value for evolutionary and biogeographic studies. In this paper, we used the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) to delimit cryptic species and explore the phylogeography of H. malabaricus sensu stricto. We found genetic evidence for putative new species in the genus Hoplias and showed that H. malabaricus (Bloch, 1794) is a major clade assigned to barcode index number (BIN) BOLD:ABZ3047. This species is structured in six subpopulations differentiated by high Fst values and restricts gene flow. The subpopulations of the São Francisco/East Atlantic/Eastern Northeast Atlantic/Parnaíba/Itapecuru River basins and Tapajós River Basin were the most differentiated and showed demographic fluctuations. The present distributional pattern is most likely explained through a scenario from the Pleistocene.