Phylogeny and time scale of diversification in the fossil-rich Sunfishes and Black Basses (Teleostei: Percomorpha: Centrarchidae)

Species of the North American freshwater fish lineage Centrarchidae are apex predators in their habitats and are among the world’s most popular sport fishes. Centrarchids boast a rich fossil record that extends from the latest Eocene to the Pleistocene. To investigate the phylogeny and timing of diversification of Centrarchidae, we deploy a dataset of DNA sequences of 16 nuclear genes sampled from nearly all of the recognized and undescribed species. We also utilize previously published morphological datasets to assess the phylogenetic placement of one of the oldest known centrarchid fossils, †Plioplarchus whitei. A Bayesian multispecies coalescent species tree analysis provides insight on relationships that evaded resolution in earlier studies, such as the relationships of Acantharchus pomotis, the resolution of a clade consisting of species previously synonymized under the Spotted Bass, Micropterus punctulatus, and a clade of recently described species previously considered population...

北美淡水鱼类支系太阳鱼科（Centrarchidae）的物种是其栖息地中的顶级捕食者（apex predators），也是全球最受欢迎的游钓鱼类之一。太阳鱼科拥有丰富的化石记录（fossil record），时间跨度从晚始新世（latest Eocene）延伸至更新世（Pleistocene）。为了研究太阳鱼科的系统发育（phylogeny）及分化时间（timing of diversification），我们使用了一个包含16个核基因（nuclear genes）DNA序列的数据集，样本覆盖了几乎所有已确认和未描述的物种。我们还利用已发表的形态学数据集（morphological datasets），评估已知最古老的太阳鱼科化石之一——†Plioplarchus whitei的系统发育位置（phylogenetic placement）。贝叶斯（Bayesian）多物种溯祖（multispecies coalescent）物种树分析（species tree analysis）揭示了早期研究中未解决的亲缘关系，例如Acantharchus pomotis的亲缘关系、曾被归为斑点鲈（Spotted Bass）同物异名（synonymized）的物种构成的分支（clade）的解析，以及一组近期被描述、此前被视为种群的物种构成的分支……