@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref21756, author = {Monica Mwale and Horst Kaiser and Nigel P. Barker and Anthony B Wilson and Peter R Teske}, title = {Identification of a uniquely southern African clade of coastal pipefishes (Syngnathus spp.)}, year = {2013}, keywords = {Syngnathus, Phylogeny, southern Africa, pipefishes}, doi = {}, url = {http://}, pmid = {}, journal = {Journal of Fish Biology}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, abstract = {The genus Syngnathus has the highest species richness of any pipefish genus and is widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean, with additional species present in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Two coastal species, the long snout pipefish Syngnathus temminckii and the river pipefish Syngnathus watermeyeri, whose taxonomic status is disputed, occur across the transition zone between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in southern Africa. Syngnathus temminckii, which is widespread throughout the region, has been considered to be conspecific with the greater pipefish Syngnathus acus. Syngnathus watermeyeri, which occurs in only two estuaries on the south coast and is ranked as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is morphologically so distinct that its placement within the genus has been questioned. The taxonomic placement of the two southern African species is investigated using a combination of morphological and genetic data. The morphological data show that S. temminckii is distinct from S. acus, and a molecular phylogeny reconstructed using mitochondrial DNA recovered S. temminckii and S. watermeyeri as sister taxa. The southern African species share an evolutionary origin with northeastern Atlantic/Mediterranean species, including S. acus. These data support the existence of a distinct southern African clade of Syngnathus pipefishes, which has diverged in situ to form the two species present in the region today. Key words: Syngnathus acus; S. temminckii; S. watermeyeri; morphometrics; mitochondrial DNA phylogeny.} }

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