I. A. Chereshnev, O. A. Radchenko, A. V. Petrovskaya - Taxonomic status and relationships of stichaeid fish of the genera Opisthocentrus, Pholidapus and Askoldia (Perciformes: Stichaeidae)

BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2011, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 430-441

Taxonomic status and relationships of stichaeid fish of the genera Opisthocentrus, Pholidapus and Askoldia (Perciformes: Stichaeidae)

Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan 685000

E-mail:

The taxonomic status and relationships of the genera Askoldia, Pholidapus, and Opisthocentrus in the subfamily Opisthocentrinae are discussed on the basis of results from comparative morphological and molecular genetic analyses. This study suggests the isolation of the genus Pholidapus from the genus Opisthocentrus and a greater similarity of the former genus to Askoldia. The level of morphological and genetic differences does not allow considering Pholidapus as a member of the genus Opisthocentrus. Within the genus Opisthocentrus, O. ocellatus and O. tenuis are closer to each other, while O. zonope differs significantly from the two species.

Key words: mitochondrial DNA, COI, cytochrome b, 16S rRNA, nuclear DNA, RNF 213 gene, subfamily Opisthocentrinae, phylogenetic relationships, morphology, systematics, taxonomy.