Meeting Abstract

P1.132  Jan. 4  Preliminary Molecular Phylogeny of the Tilefishes JIMENEZ, L.*; DOOLEY, J K.; Adelphi University; Adelphi University jimenez2@adelphi.edu

Tilefishes are found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The five genera of tilefishes consist of forty-two nominal species. The classification of the tilefishes has experienced a number of revisions since they were first placed with the Labrodei in 1829. A null hypothesis is that the tilefishes belong to a monophyletic line, the family Malacanthidae, comprised of two subfamilies, Malacanthinae and Branchiosteginae (Eschmeyer 1990). The alternative hypothesis, which is based primarily upon morphological characters, is that the tilefishes are polyphyletic, consisting of two distinct families, Branchiostegidae and Malacanthidae. A number of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, including RAG-II, 16S rRNA and cytochrome b, have been examined from 18 representative species of the five genera and several outgroup species. The 16S rRNA gene has been the most useful, thus far, in the analysis of the relationship of the tilefishes. These sequences have been analyzed utilizing CLUSTALX and bootstrapping neighbor-joining trees have been constructed.