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Species delimitation in annual killifishes from the Brazilian Caatinga, the Hypsolebias flavicaudatus complex (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae): implications for taxonomy and conservation

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14772000.2012.664177

1478-0933

Wilson J. E. M. Costa, Pedro Fasura de Amorim, José Leonardo O. Mattos,

Fish Ecology and Management Studies

Abstract The organisms investigated are members of the Hypsolebias flavicaudatus species complex; a clade of morphologically similar annual killifishes endemic to the semi-arid savannah of north-eastern Brazil in the São Francisco River basin, which is a tropical area under intensive process of habitat loss. A taxonomic revision was conducted combining two different approaches for species delimitation – a tree-based approach using mt-DNA (cytochrome b) and a character-based approach using morphological variation (colour patterns, fin morphology, meristic and morphometric data). Nine species are recognised, of which five are new species: H. flagellatus (Costa), H. flavicaudatus (Costa & Brasil), H. gilbertobrasili sp. nov., H. guanambi (Costa & Amorim), H. janaubensis (Costa), H. nitens sp. nov., H. pterophyllus sp. nov., H. radiseriatus sp. nov. and H. sertanejo sp. nov. On the basis of 17 years of field studies, preliminary conservation status assessments indicate that two species are highly threatened with extinction, at least one is endangered and another is vulnerable, whereas the others are not endangered. This result deeply contrasts with a previous assessment 10 years ago, when the whole H. flavicaudatus complex was considered as a single species of no conservation concern. Discrepancies in the assessment of conservation among closely related species living in similar habitats are a consequence of heterogeneous human occupation and disproportionate recent development throughout the São Francisco River basin. Key words: annualismconservationkillifishesSão Francisco Riversemi-arid savannahsystematicstaxonomy Acknowledgements Special thanks are due to C.P. Bove and B.B. Costa for accompanying the first author on several expeditions to collect killifishes. We are grateful to L. Alexandre, M.A. Barbosa, J.C. Gomes, A. Kartz, A. Oliveira, F. Pupo, G.J. Silva and O.C. Simões, for help during collecting trips; to C.E.G. Schrago, for support for the first molecular analyses; to L. Loss, A.A. Macedo, A. Vasconcellos and J. Zanol, for technical assistance in the early periods of the molecular studies; to G. Aranha, M. Britto, P. Buckup, E. Henschel, M. Lucena, J. Maclaine, D. Nelson, O. Oyakawa and O.C. Simões, for curatorial support; and to the Willi Hennig Society for making available TNT. The manuscript benefited from the comments and corrections provided by K.W. Conway and three anonymous reviewers. L.E. Shubert provided language editing. This study was funded by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia) and FAPERJ (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro). Collections were made with permits and licence provided by IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis) and ICMBio (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade) to the first author. Associate Editor: Kevin WConway