Investigating the utility of Anchored Hybrid Enrichment data to resolve the relationships among the Killifishes (Actinopterygii: Cyprinodontiformes), a globally distributed group of fishes

The Killifishes (Blenniiformes: Cyprinodontoidea) are a diverse and
well-known group of fishes that contains sixteen families inclusive of
Anablepidae, Aphaniidae Aplocheilidae, Cubanichthyidae, Cyprinodontidae,
Fluviphylacidae, Fundulidae, Goodeidae, Nothobranchiidae, Orestiidae,
Pantanodontidae, Poeciliidae, Procatopodidae, Profundulidae, Rivulidae,
and Valenciidae and more than 1,200 species that are globally distributed
in tropical and temperate, freshwater and estuarine habitats. The
evolutionary relationships among the families within the group, based on
different molecular and morphological data sets, have remained uncertain.
Therefore, the objective of this study was to use a targeted approach,
anchored hybrid enrichment, to resolve the phylogenetic relationships
among the families within the Superfamily Cyprinodontoidea (formerly the
Cyprindontiformes). This study included more than 100 individuals,
representing all sixteen families within Cyprinodontoidea, including many
recently diagnosed families. We recovered an average of 244 loci per
individual. These data were submitted to phylogenetic analyses (RaxML and
ASTRAL) and although we recovered many of the same relationships as in
previous studies of the group, several novel sets of relationships for
other families also were recovered. In addition, two well-established
clades were recovered as monophyletic and are in agreement with most
previous studies. We also assessed the degree of gene tree discordance in
our dataset to evaluate support for alternative topological hypotheses for
interfamilial relationships within the Cyprinodontoidea using a variety of
different analyses. The results from this study will provide a robust,
historical framework needed to investigate a plethora of biogeographic,
taxonomic, ecological, and physiological questions for this group of
fishes.