HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY AND DIVERSIFICATION PATTERNS OF THE CUBAN ENDEMIC TRIBE GIRARDININI (ACTIONOPTERYGII: POECILIIDAE)

The poeciliid tribe Girardinini Hubbs, 1924 is endemic from Cuba and Juventud islands. Molecular studies have demonstrated that this tribe is comprised of the genera Girardinus s.l. and Quintana. One of these molecular studies gave support for the validation of four genera within Girardinus s.l. (Dactyllophallus, Girardinus, Glaridichthys and Toxus), which had been previously considered as different taxa on the basis of morphology. The phylogeny of the genera belonging to the tribe Girardinini is well resolved, nevertheless, the phylogenetic relationships between the tribe and either other American or Antillean poeciliids is still under debate.

In this study we reanalyse poeciliid samples from previous studies, including all extanct species of the tribe Girardinini, using mitochondrial and nuclear genes and topology tests to resolve phylogenetic relationships of the tribe relative to other poeciliid groups with the final aim of inferring the biogeographical history of Girardinini. To date, three hypotheses have been claimed to explain the presence of Girardinini in Cuba and Juventud islands, a very geologically and tectonically complex region. We test these three hypotheses using different ancestral areas reconstruction methodologies and establish a timing framework for the biogeographical patterns inferred in Girardinini through molecular clock approaches.

VIII Jornadas del Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 23 y 24 de noviembre de 2015, organizadas por el departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva (MNCN), CSIC y grabadas por el Servicio de Audiovisuales-Mediateca,MNCN-CSIC.

Presentación: Anabel Perdices. Jefa del Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, MNCN-CSIC.

Moderadores: Miriam Casal, Guillermo Friis y Jorge Gutiérrez. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, MNCN-CSIC.