Abstract
ABSTRACT In order to investigate zoogeographical patterns of the marine elasmobranch species of Colombia, species richness of the Pacific and Caribbean and their subareas (Coastal Pacific, Oceanic Pacific, Coastal Caribbean, Oceanic Caribbean) was analyzed. The areas shared 10 families, 10 genera and 16 species of sharks, and eight families, three genera and four species of batoids. Carcharhinidae had the highest contribution to shark richness, whereas Rajidae and Urotrygonidae had the greatest contribution to batoid richness in the Caribbean and Pacific, respectively. Most elasmobranchs were associated with benthic and coastal habitats. The similarity analysis allowed the identification of five groups of families, which characterize the elasmobranch richness in both areas. Beta diversity indicated that most species turnover occurred between the Coastal Pacific and the two Caribbean subareas. The difference in species richness and composition between areas may be due to vicariant events such as the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama. It is unlikely that the Colombian elasmobranch diversity originated from a single colonization event. Local diversification/speciation, dispersal from the non-tropical regions of the Americas, a Pacific dispersion and an Atlantic dispersion are origin possibilities without any of them excluding the others.
Highlights
Dispersal is closely linked to vagility, which is in turn inversely correlated with speciation (Bush, 1975), taxa diversity (Hrabik et al, 2005) and endemism (Anderson, 1994)
For sharks, it is proposed that the species vagility is directly proportional to body size, with oceanic species more able to disperse than coastal ones (Musick et al, 2004)
There are 117 (64 sharks and 53 batoids) confirmed marine elasmobranch species in Colombian waters. These species are grouped into 26 families (16 sharks and 10 batoids)
Summary
Despite the high diversity of elasmobranchs (more than 465 species of sharks and 539 batoids), grouped in 178 genera and 51 families (Nelson, 2006; White & Last, 2012; Dulvy et al, 2014), there are few zoogeographical studies carried out in this group, and most are focused on the order Rajiformes (Ishihara, 1991; Last & Yearsley, 2002; Musick et al, 2004; Last & White, 2011). For sharks, it is proposed that the species vagility is directly proportional to body size, with oceanic species more able to disperse than coastal ones (Musick et al, 2004). Based on the proposal that their fossil record date from the late Jurassic to Paleocene
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