Multigene fossil-calibrated analysis of the African lampeyes (Cyprinodontoidei: Procatopodidae) reveals an early Oligocene origin and Neogene diversification driven by palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic events

Abstract

Here, we present the first molecular and fossil-dated analysis focusing in the Procatopodidae, a widely distributed and little known African oviparous killifish family. The analysis included 36 species representing all Procatopodidae genera except the monotypic Aapticheilichthys. Procatopodidae relationships were established through maximum likelihood and bayesian inference approaches based on fragments of one mitochondrial and five nuclear genes, a total of 5691 bp. The Procatopodidae is herein considered a monophyletic group, sister to the Old world Valenciidae and Aphaniidae. The genus Plataplochilus represent the most basal procatopodid lineage and the brackish water species Aplocheilichthys spilauchen is placed within the Procatopodidae. A clade including the morphologically distinct species of Congopanchax, Lacustricola, and Lamprichthys is herein suggested for the first time, and the genera Micropanchax, Poropanchax, Lacustricola, and Hypsopanchax revealed to be paraphyletic. A fossil-calibrated analysis, based on the same dataset, provided the first information about the evolution of the Procatopodidae in Africa. Our estimates indicate an early Oligocene origin for the Procatopodidae, as a consequence of the Eocene trans-Saharan epicontinental sea retreat, and also indicated that major Neogene paleogeographical and paleoenvironmental events influenced procatopodids diversification (e.g., increase activity in the African rift; late Miocene aridification; Pliocene and Pleistocene climatic instability).