Document of bibliographic reference 406293

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

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AS

Title

Museomic analyses clarify species diversity in the icefish genus Channichthys

Abstract

The rapid diversification of notothenioid fishes in Antarctic waters is a prime example of the process of adaptive radiation. Within around 10 million years, Antarctic notothenioids have diversified into over 100 species with a broad range of lifestyles and ecological adaptations. However, the exact number of species within this radiation has long been unclear. Particularly challenging is the taxonomy of the genus Channichthys, for which between one and nine species have been recognized by different authors. The putative species of this genus are known from a limited number of specimens, of which most were sampled decades ago. Here, we investigated the mitochondrial genomes of museum specimens representing the four species Unicorn Icefish (C. rhinoceratus), Red Icefish (C. rugosus), Sailfish Pike (C. velifer), and Charcoal Icefish (C. panticapaei), complemented by morphological analyses. All analyzed specimens were collected in the 1960s and 1970s and fixed in formaldehyde, and their DNA has been heavily degraded. Applying ancient-DNA protocols for DNA extraction and single-stranded library preparation, we were able to obtain sufficient endogenous DNA to reconstruct the mitochondrial genomes of one specimen per species. These mitochondrial genome sequences were nearly identical for the three specimens assigned to Unicorn Icefish, Red Icefish, and Sailfish Pike, while greater divergence was observed for the Charcoal Icefish specimens. We discuss possible explanations of the contrast between these molecular results and the recognizable morphological variation found among the four species, and recommend that at least the Charcoal Icefish be included in the list of valid notothenioid species.

Bibliographic citation

Garmann-Aarhus, B.; Nikolaeva, E.; Desvignes, T.; Straube, N.; Matschiner, M. (2025). Museomic analyses clarify species diversity in the icefish genus Channichthys. Polar Biol. 48(1): 32. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-025-03349-x

Is peer reviewed

true

Access rights

open access

Is accessible for free

true