Data from: Phylogenetic and biogeographic history of the Snooks (Centropomidae: Carangiformes) spanning the closure of the Isthmus of Panama

Aim: Amphiamerican New World fishes provide a unique opportunity to
explore the impact of geological processes and the formation of geographic
barriers on biological diversification across both spatial and temporal
dimensions. We employed phylogenetic and biogeographic methods to assess
the impact of the emergence of the isthmus of Panama on the evolutionary
history of snooks. Location: Eastern tropical Pacific and western Atlantic
Oceans. Methods: Bayesian methods were used for phylogenetic inference and
divergence time estimation, incorporating the fossil record of Carangidae,
Centropomidae, Istiophoriformes, Latidae, and Sphyraenidae to establish a
timeline using the methods of stratigraphic intervals for node calibration
density specification. Biogeographic models were fitted to test the
hypothesis that transisthmian vicariant events are coeval with the Isthmus
closure. To estimate ancestral range probability and perform stochastic
mapping, we utilized BioGeoBears and the parameters from the best-fitting
model. This allowed us to estimate the quantity and kind of
biogeographical events. Results: Our results suggest a sister relationship
between Centropomidae and Sphyraenidae with a common ancestor that
originated in the Upper Cretaceous (~78.51 Ma). The biogeographic model
BAYAreaLIKE + j indicated speciation in sympatry and dispersal (founder
effect) as the primary modes of speciation in the genus Centropomus. The
dispersion in the family Centropomidae was estimated from the Tropical
Eastern Pacific to the tropical western Atlantic since the Oligocene. Main
conclusions: The alignment of divergence times with ancestral species
distributions suggests a possible synchrony between the current
distribution in Centropomus species and the processes of the formation of
the Isthmus of Panama during the Miocene. However, the evidence of only
two transisthmic pair suggests that this event was not determinant in
allopatric interbasin speciation. Furthermore, recent diversification
events within each basin imply an influence of post-closure environmental
conditions on the evolution of this group of fishes.