University of Bochum, Evolutionary Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals, Universitaetsstr. 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
Curr Biol. 2012 Jun 5;22(11):R439-40. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.04.053.
The coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, occurs at the Eastern coast of Africa from South Africa up to Kenya. It is often referred to as a living fossil mainly because of its nearly unchanged morphology since the Middle Devonian. As it is a close relative to the last common ancestor of fish and tetrapods, molecular studies mostly focussed on their phylogenetic relationships. We now present a population genetic study based on 71 adults from the whole known range of the species. Despite an overall low genetic diversity, there is evidence for divergence of local populations. We assume that originally the coelacanths at the East African Coast derived from the Comoros population, but have since then diversified into additional independent populations: one in South Africa and another in Tanzania. Unexpectedly, we find a split of the Comoran coelacanths into two sympatric subpopulations. Despite its undeniably slow evolutionary rate, the coelacanth still diversifies and is therefore able to adapt to new environmental conditions.
腔棘鱼，拉蒂迈鱼，分布于非洲东海岸，南起南非，北至肯尼亚。它通常被称为活化石，主要是因为自中泥盆纪以来，它的形态几乎没有变化。由于它是鱼类和四足动物的最后共同祖先的近亲，分子研究主要集中在它们的系统发育关系上。我们现在根据来自该物种已知分布范围的 71 个成体进行了一项种群遗传学研究。尽管总体遗传多样性较低，但有证据表明当地种群存在分歧。我们假设东非沿海的腔棘鱼最初来自科摩罗种群，但此后已经分化成额外的独立种群：一个在南非，另一个在坦桑尼亚。出乎意料的是，我们发现科摩罗腔棘鱼分裂成两个同域的亚种群。尽管腔棘鱼的进化速度确实很慢，但它仍然在分化，因此能够适应新的环境条件。
