Disentangling the drivers of diversification in an imperiled group of freshwater fishes (Cyprinodontiformes: Goodeidae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

One of the most perplexing questions in evolutionary biology is why some lineages diversify into many species, and others do not. In many cases, ecological opportunity has played an important role, leading to diversification along trophic or habitat-based axes. The Goodeidae (Teleostomi: Cyprinodontiformes) are a family of freshwater fishes with two subfamilies: Goodeinae (42 species, viviparous, heterogeneous habitats, Mesa Central of Mexico) and Empetrichthyinae (4 species, oviparous, homogeneous habitats, Great Basin of the United States). These discrepant sets of characteristics and their sister-group relationship make the goodeids amenable to a comparative study of diversification. We gathered lateral body images from more than 1600 specimens of all extant species i

SUBMITTER: Foster KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6052539 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature