Phylogenetic relationships of the suckermouth minnows, genus Phenacobius, inferred from parsimony analyses of nucleotide sequence, allozymic and morphological data (Cyprinidae: Cypriniformes)

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the phylogenetic relationships among the five species of the genus Phenacobius (Cyprinidae: Cypriniformes) using a combined analysis of molecular and morphological characters. The nucleotide characters were comprised of 208 potentially informative sites among a total 1773 aligned base pairs from several segments of mitochondrial genes that encode the large and small RNA subunits, the valine transfer RNA, and the NADH ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit 2. Allelic data from 23 polymorphic allozyme loci and nine morphological characters taken from the literature were also included in the total evidence analysis. Third position codon characters were demonstrated to be saturated for transitional changes and unsuitable for phylogeny estimation among the species studied here. The total evidence phylogeny is isomorphic with Mayden’s (1989) morphological hypothesis. Phenacobius mirabilis was found to be basal, followed in ascending order by P. teretulus, P. catostomus and a clade comprised of P. crassilabrum and P. uranops .