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Phylogeny and age of chromidotilapiine cichlids (Teleostei: Cichlidae)

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Abstract

Chromidotilapiine cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) of West and Central Africa represent the most species rich ancient African cichlid lineage. In contrast to the mega-diverse haplotilapiine cichlids from the African rift valley and crater lakes, very little is known about their phylogenetic history. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences and a representative taxon sampling, we present a first molecular phylogenetic hypothesis and propose age estimates for their origin and diversification. Our data support the monophyly and an Oligocene/Eocene origin of chromidotilapiines. Within chromidotilapiines, two large, reciprocally monophyletic clades are present and the enigmatic genus Teleogramma could be phylogenetically placed for the first time. The two distantly distributed species Limbochromis robertsi and Chromidotilapia schoutedeni were identified as sister group to the Congolian species complexes of Nanochromis and Congochromis. This unexpected phylogenetic link between a region in West Africa and the Congo basin suggests an ancient hydrogeographic corridor spanning almost half of the African continent. The nearly complete taxon sampling, good knowledge on species distribution patterns and well resolved phylogenies allow the presumption that paleogeographic patterns rather than ecological factors shaped the ancient divergence within chromidotilapiines, which predates the origin of the mega-diverse austrotilapiine lineage, comprising the majority of African cichlid species.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all people who provided samples for this study and/or helped collecting samples, in particular Robert Schelly & Melanie Stiassny (American Museum of Natural History), Emmanuel Vreven (Royal Museum for Central Africa), Ulyel Ali-Patho, Kadange Theophile, Celestine Danadu and Papy Brown Mongindo (University of Kisangani), as well as members of the “Deutsche Cichliden Gesellschaft (DCG).” This study was supported by a German Research Foundation grant to UKS and BM (SCHL567/4-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SNSB - Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Münchhausenstrasse 21, 81247, Munich, Germany

    Julia Schwarzer & Ulrich K. Schliewen

  2. Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Julia Schwarzer & Bernhard Misof

  3. Department of Aquatic Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Julia Schwarzer

  4. Department of Fish Ecology & Evolution, EAWAG Centre of Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Seestrasse 79, 6047, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

    Julia Schwarzer

  5. Faculty of Life Sciences, Department for Integrative Zoology, University Vienna, Althahnstrasse 14, 1090, Wien, Austria

    Anton Lamboj

  6. Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, 53121, Bonn, Germany

    Kathrin Langen

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  1. Julia Schwarzer
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  3. Kathrin Langen
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  4. Bernhard Misof
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  5. Ulrich K. Schliewen
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Correspondence to Ulrich K. Schliewen.

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Guest editors: S. Koblmüller, R. C. Albertson, M. J. Genner, K. M. Sefc & T. Takahashi / Advances in Cichlid Research: Behavior, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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Schwarzer, J., Lamboj, A., Langen, K. et al. Phylogeny and age of chromidotilapiine cichlids (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Hydrobiologia 748, 185–199 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1918-1

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