Mitochondrial phylogeny and phylogeography of East African squeaker catfishes (Siluriformes: Synodontis).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Squeaker catfishes (Pisces, Mochokidae, Synodontis) are widely distributed throughout Africa and inhabit a biogeographic range similar to that of the exceptionally diverse cichlid fishes, including the three East African Great Lakes and their surrounding rivers. Since squeaker catfishes also prefer the same types of habitats as many of the cichlid species, we hypothesized that the East African Synodontis species provide an excellent model group for comparative evolutionary and phylogeographic analyses.

Results

Our analyses reveal the existence of six major lineages of Synodontis in East Africa that diversified about 20 MYA from a Central and/or West African ancestor. The six lineages show a clear geographic patterning. Two lineages are endemic to Lake Tanganyika (

SUBMITTER: Koblmuller S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1543664 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature