Molecular phylogenetics reveals convergent evolution in lower Congo River spiny eels.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The lower Congo River (LCR) is a region of exceptional species diversity and endemism in the Congo basin, including numerous species of spiny eels (genus Mastacembelus). Four of these exhibit distinctive phenotypes characterized by greatly reduced optic globes deeply embedded into the head (cryptophthalmia) and reduced (or absent) melanin pigmentation, among other characteristics. A strikingly similar cryptophthalmic phenotype is also found in members of a number of unrelated fish families, strongly suggesting the possibility of convergent evolution. However, little is known about the evolutionary processes that shaped diversification in LCR Mastacembelus, their biogeographic origins, or when colonization of the LCR occurred.

Methods

We sequenced mitochondrial and

SUBMITTER: Alter SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4608218 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature