Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal.
CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Rua Padre Armando Quintas nº 7, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 9;12(1):9514. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12580-z.
Omobranchus punctatus is native to the Indo-Pacific region and invasive in the Atlantic region, currently being considered one of the most widely distributed blenny species. However, recent molecular studies indicated that O. punctatus is a complex of species, with three divergent mtDNA lineages identified to date, stressing the need for a taxonomic revision. In this study, we used an integrative approach, combining morphological and genetic data, to shed light on the taxonomy and distribution of O. punctatus. Moreover, we provide the first genetic records of introduced populations in Brazil and discuss the introduction pattern of this species in this region. Morphological data shows that O. punctatus consists of at least five distinct and geographically restricted species: O. punctatus sensu stricto, O. dispar, O. sewalli, O. cf. kochi, and O. cf. japonicus. Species delimitation analyses performed using the mtDNA data available confirmed that O. punctatus sensu stricto, O. dispar and O. sewalli correspond to different species that started to diverge about 2.6 Mya. Furthermore, O. sewalli was identified as the invasive species colonizing Atlantic shores. The existence of historical oceanographic barriers, such as the emergence of the Sunda Shelf in the Eastern Indian Ocean during the Pleistocene, and the biological traits of these blennies are the most likely factors responsible for their genetic differentiation and subsequent speciation.
点带石斑鱼原产于印度洋-太平洋地区，现已入侵大西洋地区，目前被认为是分布最广泛的隆头鱼之一。然而，最近的分子研究表明，点带石斑鱼是一个由多个物种组成的复合体，迄今为止已确定有 3 个不同的线粒体 DNA 谱系，这凸显了对其进行分类修订的必要性。在这项研究中，我们采用了综合方法，结合形态学和遗传数据，阐明了点带石斑鱼的分类和分布情况。此外，我们还提供了该物种在巴西的引入种群的首个遗传记录，并讨论了该物种在该地区的引入模式。形态学数据表明，点带石斑鱼至少由 5 个具有明显地理限制的不同物种组成：即点带石斑鱼指名亚种、斑鳍石斑鱼、塞氏石斑鱼、可可石斑鱼和日本石斑鱼。使用现有 mtDNA 数据进行的物种界定分析证实，点带石斑鱼指名亚种、斑鳍石斑鱼和塞氏石斑鱼属于不同的物种，它们大约在 260 万年前开始分化。此外，塞氏石斑鱼被确定为入侵大西洋海岸的物种。历史上存在的海洋地理屏障，如更新世期间东印度洋巽他陆架的出现，以及这些隆头鱼的生物学特征，很可能是导致它们遗传分化和随后物种形成的原因。
