Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Analysis of the Sparidae (Perciformes: Percoidei) from Cytochrome b Sequences

We used complete sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene to test monophyly of the Sparoidea, Sparidae, six subfamilies of Sparidae, and to elucidate the interrelationships of the 33 recognized sparid genera. The analysis included 40 sparid species, 10 closely related species, 10 basal percoids, and two nonperciform outgroup species. The aligned 1140 base pairs of cytochrome b yielded 542 parsimony informative characters. Mutational analysis revealed that third codon position transitions were saturated and, therefore, of questionable use in phylogenetic analysis. However, the third codon position transversions and all first and second codon substitutions were not saturated and thus judged more reliable for inferring evolutionary relationship. Parsimony analysis of the equally weighted nucleotide data, weighted nucleotide data set (saturated position transitions given a weight of zero) supported a monophyletic Sparidae with the inclusion of Spicara, which is traditionally included in Centracanthidae. The previously proposed composition of genera within the six sparid subfamilies (Boopsinae, Denticinae, Diplodinae, Pagellinae, Pagrinae, and Sparinae) were not monophyletic in all analyses. This suggests the feeding types on which the subfamilies are based were independently derived multiple times within sparid fishes. In all analyses, Lethrinidae were sister to Sparidae. Sparoidea (Sparidae, Centracanthidae, Lethrinidae, and Nemipteridae) were monophyletic only in the weighted nucleotide phylogeny.

Fig. 1.

Ingroup substitutions as a function of sequence divergence for (A) all substitutions third codon position; (B) transitions only third codon position; (C) all substitutions pooled first and second codons; the contribution of third position transitions (D) and transversions (E) to the total number of third position substitutions

Fig. 2.

Left tree is a strict consensus of four equally parsimonious trees from the equally weighted cytochrome b nucleotide data. The numbers within nodes are total decay values followed by jackknife values and the numbers within the parentheses below nodes are partitioned decay values for codons one, two, and three. Subfamilies are labeled as follows (BO = Boopsinae, DE = Denticinae, DI = Diplodinae, PA = Pagrinae, PE = Pagellinae, and SP = Sparinae). Right tree is a phylogram of one of four equally parsimonious trees

Fig. 3.

Left tree is a strict consensus of two equally parsimonious trees from the weighted cytochrome b nucleotide data. The numbers within nodes are total decay values followed by jackknife values and the numbers within the parentheses are partitioned decay values for codons one, two, and three. Subfamilies as defined in Figure 2. Right tree is a phylogram of one of two equally parsimonious trees

Fig. 4.

Numbered ancestral nodes of the Sparidae clade, pruned from the equally weighted cytochrome b (Fig. 3). Ancestral nodes were used for biogeographical analysis. Subfamilies as defined in Figure 2