Integrative taxonomy supports the presence of two species of &lt;em&gt;Kyphosus&lt;/em&gt; (Perciformes: Kyphosidae) in Atlantic European waters

Rafael Bañón,David Barros-García,Alejandro De Carlos

doi:10.3989/scimar.04601.08a

Integrative taxonomy supports the presence of two species of <em>Kyphosus</em> (Perciformes: Kyphosidae) in Atlantic European waters

Rafael Bañón, David Barros-García + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04601.08a

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Abstract

The taxonomic identification of one Kyphosus sectatrix and two Kyphosus vaigiensis specimens caught in the European Atlantic waters of Galicia, northwestern Spain, was carried out by means of integrative taxonomy, combining the examination of morphological characters and DNA barcodes. Taxonomical assignation based on morphological characters of these specimens was tested by comparing their COI sequences with available data of Kyphosus deposited in public repositories. The resulting neighbour-joining tree defined four clades corresponding to Barcode Index Number (BIN) and indicated that some nucleotide sequences from Kyphosus, previously deposited, probably originate from misidentified specimens, as would be expected from cryptic and sympatric species. The specimens of Kyphosus vaigiensis represent a new record for the waters of Galicia and the northernmost record in the eastern Atlantic. This kind of herbivorous tropical fishes could play an important role in the tropho-dynamic context of this temperate coastal ecosystem.

Highlights

The number of species in the perciform family Kyphosidae is controversial, mainly depending on the number of genera included
Summary: The taxonomic identification of one Kyphosus sectatrix and two Kyphosus vaigiensis specimens caught in the European Atlantic waters of Galicia, northwestern Spain, was carried out by means of integrative taxonomy, combining the examination of morphological characters and DNA barcodes
The examined K. sectatrix and K. vaigiensis specimens could be differentiated mainly by dorsal and anal soft ray counts (14 dorsal fin and 13 anal fin soft rays in K. vaigiensis compared with 12 dorsal fin and 11 anal fin soft rays in K. sectatrix) and the number of gill rakers (32 in K. vaigiensis and 24 in K. sectatrix), which agree with previous taxonomical reports (Knudsen and Clements 2013, Mannino et al 2015)

Summary

Introduction

The number of species in the perciform family Kyphosidae is controversial, mainly depending on the number of genera included. The sea chubs Kyphosus species typically inhabits shallow waters over sandy, rocky or grassy bottoms around coral reefs, mainly in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and juveniles are commonly found among floating algae or below flotsam (Tortonese 1986). Two species of Kyphosus have been reported so far in the northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: the Bermuda sea chub Kyphosus sectatrix (L., 1758) and the yellow sea chub Kyphosus incisor (Cuvier, 1831) (Tortonese 1986). For the Mediterranean Sea, new records of K. sectatrix (Ligas et al 2011, Kiparissis et al 2012) and K. incisor (Azzurro et al 2013) have been reported successively. For the European Atlantic waters, specimens of K. sectatrix have been reported sporadically in the Macaronesian islands, south of Portugal, northwest of Spain and in the Bay of Biscay (Bañón et al 2010, Canas et al 2005, Quéro et al 2009)

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