Abstract
Antarctic dragonfishes (Bathydraconidae) of the suborder Notothenioidei are found only in the Southern Ocean where they diversified in habitats from the surface to the bathypelagic zone thousands of meters deep. Among dragonfishes, the pelagic Gymnodraconinae sister species Acanthodraco dewitti and Psilodraco breviceps remain poorly known. Although A. dewitti is thought to be restricted to Antarctic waters and P. breviceps to be endemic to South Georgia Island, several P. breviceps specimens have occasionally been reported in coastal Antarctica. Here we investigated the molecular genetic identity of the two species and their geographic distribution. Three mitochondrial genetic markers (mt-cyb, mt-co1, and mt-nd2) identified two dragonfish larvae collected on the West Antarctic Peninsula as A. dewitti and showed that all six specimens with available genetic data and reported to be P. breviceps collected in Antarctic waters were also A. dewitti. These results support the allopatric distribution of the two species, with P. breviceps being endemic to South Georgia Island and A. dewitti being endemic to Antarctic waters, potentially with a circumpolar distribution. The biogeography of the sister species A. dewitti and P. breviceps is likely similar to the allopatric distribution of the congeneric sister dragonfish species Parachaenichthys charcoti and P. georgianus. These considerations suggest that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current may geographically isolate the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic species of both sister species pairs, limiting gene flow and promoting speciation. Furthermore, we provide a detailed description of the A. dewitti larvae to supply characteristic morphological features differentiating A. dewitti and P. breviceps larvae.
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All samples and data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its Online Resources), deposited in NCBI, at Oregon State University Ichthyological Collection (Corvallis, OR, USA), and at the Ocean Genome Legacy collection (Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA, USA).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. Jeannette Yen from Georgia Institute of Technology for offering the A. dewitti larvae to TD in recognition of his help in fishing operations during the cruise LMG14-04 (NSF Grant ANT-1246296). Authors also thank Prof. H William Detrich III from Northeastern University Marine Science Center for providing field and laboratory support to TD during the same cruise (NSF Grant PLR-1247510). The authors also thank the captain and crew of the ARSV Laurence M. Gould, the personnel of the US Antarctic Program Support Contractors for assistance in Chile, at sea, and at Palmer Station, as well as the logistics in Denver, CO. This work was funded by NSF grants OPP-1543383 (JHP and TD) and OPP-1947040 (JHP). We thank the two reviewers for their thorough reviews of the manuscript.
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Study concept and design: TD and PK. Acquisition of data: TD and PK. Analysis and interpretation of data: TD, JHP, PK. Wrote the manuscript: TD and PK. Critical revision of the manuscript: TD, JHP, PK. Obtained funding: TD and JHP. Study supervision: TD.
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Desvignes, T., Postlethwait, J.H. & Konstantinidis, P. Biogeography of the Antarctic dragonfishes Acanthodraco dewitti and Psilodraco breviceps with re-description of Acanthodraco dewitti larvae (Notothenioidei: Bathydraconidae). Polar Biol 43, 565–572 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02661-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02661-y