Allozyme Assessment of the Phylogenetic Relationships of the Iberian Species Chondrostoma Lemmingii and C-lusitanicum (pisces : Cyprinidae)
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
1997
Abstract
The generic status of two Iberian cyprinids, Chondrostoma lemmingii and C. lusitanicum, has been controversial since they have been considered by some authors to fall within the genus Chondrostoma and by others in the genus Rutilus. Studies involving this discussion have employed only morphological characters. In order to help resolve the taxonomic placement of these two species, we electrophoretically examined the products of 23 presumptive gene loci taken from six Iberian species of both genera (Chondrostoma lemmingii, C. lusitanicum, C. polylepis, C. willkommii, Rutilus arcasii, and R. macrolepidotus) as well as Rutilus rutilus from Poland. Two species of the genus Leuciscus served as outgroups. The allozyme data collected in this study did not unequivocally establish the phylogenetic relationships of the taxa studied. However, the results of cladistic (PAUP Distance Wagner) analysis suggest that both Chondrostoma lemmingii and C. lusitanicum should be retained in the genus Chondrostoma; both taxa are more closely related to other Iberian members of the genus Chondrostoma than to members of the genus Rutilus. Furthermore, our results also suggest that the Portuguese populations of Chondrostoma and Rutilus form a monophyletic unit.