Natural history and molecular evolution of demersal Mediterranean sharks and skates inferred by comparative phylogeographic and demographic analyses.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The unique and complex paleoclimatic and paleogeographic events which affected the Mediterranean Sea since late Miocene deeply influenced the distribution and evolution of marine organisms and shaped their genetic structure. Following the Messinian salinity crisis and the sea-level fluctuations during the Pleistocene, several Mediterranean marine species developed deep genetic differentiation, and some underwent rapid radiation. Here, we consider two of the most prioritized groups for conservation in the light of their evolutionary history: sharks and rays (elasmobranchs). This paper deals with a comparative multispecies analysis of phylogeographic structure and historical demography in two pairs of sympatric, phylogenetically- and ecologically-related elasmobranchs, two

SUBMITTER: Ferrari A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6149499 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature