Phylogeny of the damselfishes (Pomacentridae) and patterns of asymmetrical diversification in body size and feeding ecology.

ABSTRACT: The damselfishes (family Pomacentridae) inhabit near-shore communities in tropical and temperature oceans as one of the major lineages in coral reef fish assemblages. Our understanding of their evolutionary ecology, morphology and function has often been advanced by increasingly detailed and accurate molecular phylogenies. Here we present the next stage of multi-locus, molecular phylogenetics for the group based on analysis of 12 nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences from 345 of the 422 damselfishes. The resulting well-resolved phylogeny helps to address several important questions about higher-level damselfish relationships, their evolutionary history and patterns of divergence. A time-calibrated phylogenetic tree yields a root age for the family of 55.5 mya, refines the age of origin

SUBMITTER: McCord CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8550381 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature