Integrated Taxonomy Reveals Hidden Diversity in Northern Australian Fishes: A New Species of Seamoth (Genus Pegasus).
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26934529.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0149415 and PMC identifier 4774964.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Fishes are one of the most intensively studied marine taxonomic groups yet cryptic species are still being discovered. An integrated taxonomic approach is used herein to delineate and describe a new cryptic seamoth (genus Pegasus) from what was previously a wide-ranging species. Preliminary mitochondrial DNA barcoding indicated possible speciation in Pegasus volitans specimens collected in surveys of the Torres Strait and Great Barrier Reef off Queensland in Australia. Morphological and meristic investigations found key differences in a number of characters between P. volitans and the new species, P. tetrabelos. Further mt DNA barcoding of both the COI and the slower mutating 16S genes of additional specimens provided strong support for two separate species. Pegasus tetrabelos and P. volitans are sympatric in northern Australia and were frequently caught together in trawls at the same depths.
Medical subject headings
- Fishes
- Genetic Variation