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Molecular Phylogeny of the Spined Loach Genus Sabanejewia (Osteichthyes: Cobitidae) Revised

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Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships of Sabanejewia species inferred from variability in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (n = 95) and nuclear gene RAG-1 (n = 46) in an expanded dataset, including S. caspia, S. aralensis, and Eastern European and Asian populations of previously analyzed species, show that S. caspia, S. larvata and S. romanica are three highly diverged mtDNA lineages, independently and sequentially branching earlier than other clades. However, S. caspia and S. larvata are combined into a common RAG-1 clade (albeit with low support), which corresponds to the karyological similarity of these species. Because of their deep genetic divergence and observed morphological differences, S. caspia and S. larvata are considered to be members of an independent subgenus Andrzhewia subg. n. distinguished by a relatively short caudal peduncle, short snout and specific color pattern. Within the Danube-Balkan complex identified by Perdices et al., the present analysis shows a strongly supported monophyletic mtDNA lineage of S. vallachica; the mixed structure of other lineages of this complex is apparently associated with undeveloped system of the diagnostic characters, which leads to incorrect identification of specimens involved in phylogenetic analysis. S. baltica, previously considered a monophyletic lineage distributed in the basins of the Black (Dniester, Dnieper, and Don) and Baltic (Vistula and Odra) seas, is represented in this analysis by two differentiated phylogenetic groups. The first group includes samples from the Baltic Sea basin and the Dniester River system and corresponds to S. baltica s. stricto; the second group includes samples from the Don basin, which should be considered a new cryptic species of Sabanejewia. S. kubanica, S. caucasica, and S. aralensis are distinguished as separate monophyletic mtDNA subclades, which confirm their species status; S. aurata is identified as a polyphyletic group.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to V. Luzhnyak, A. Pashkov, N. Mamilov, V. Sarychev, and B. Levin who provided us with samples of certain Sabanejewia species. The authors also thank all anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions, which undoubtedly improved the manuscript.

Funding

Scientific investigations of Ekaterina Vasil’eva and Evgeniya Solovyeva were carried within a State Project of Moscow State University no. 121032300105-0.

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  1. Zoological Museum, Biological Department, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    E. D. Vasil’eva & E. N. Solovyeva

  2. Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    V. P. Vasil’ev

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Vasil’eva, E.D., Solovyeva, E.N. & Vasil’ev, V.P. Molecular Phylogeny of the Spined Loach Genus Sabanejewia (Osteichthyes: Cobitidae) Revised. J. Ichthyol. 62, 812–827 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945222050228

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