Abstract
Distance matrices obtained from allozyme studies on tilapiine fish are analysed by a multivarite approach. A hierarchical clustering procedure facilitated comparison with tree representations. A map‐like representation provided information additional to the tree representation. The current belief that Sarotherodon is closer to Oreochromis than to Tilapia is strengthened. But while it may be the link between these genera at the species level, it is not entirely distinct from Oreochromis at the molecular level. Further, Sarotherodon and Oreochromis species may have arisen from Tilapia in several speciation events. Some of the species interrelations agreed with inferences from morphological data, and disagreed with those from a consensus maximum parsimony (MP) tree. It is suggested that both Chromidotilapia guntheri and Tylochromis jentinki are ancestral to diVerent sub‐groups of Tilapia, so that inferences from morphological studies and the consensus MP method are both partially correct. The graphical representation also suggests that the Nile tilapia strains in Asia may be derived from Egypt rather than from Ghana. It is advantageous to use the map‐like and tree representations together for maximum visual informativeness and inference from the data.
Published Version
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