Abstract Sisorid catfishes are primarily limited in distribution to rivers of the Himalayan region and Tibetan Plateau. These species have external morphologies that are adapted for extremely fast-flowing riverine systems. Given the diversity of the group and the above qualities of these catfishes, this lineage serves as an ideal group for inferring the geological history of this region based on their phylogenetic relationships reflecting evolu- tionary history. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome and four nuclear genes of representative sisorids distributed across river systems in China. Phylogenetic analyses strongly support the monophyly of the Sisoridae and the glyptosternoids. An analysis of the reconstructed ancestral states derived from inferred genealogical relationships suggests that the evolution of this lineage was accompanied by convergent evolution in morphological traits that were presumably in response to environmental pressure involving the rapid flowing river system that were generated during the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau （UTP）. Molecular dating indicates that the Chinese sisorids and the glyptosternoids originated at the later Miocene （~ 10.9-9.8 Mya）, and with further biogeographic analyses indicates that the species of Sisoridae likely originated from a widely distributed ancestor. Moreover, the divergence of the Sisoridae in China can be divided into two phases consis- tent with the UTP. All of these results indicate that the diversification and dispersal events in this lineage occurred as a result of drainage systems formed during and after the UTP in the late Miocene and Quaternary periods.
Chuanjiang ZhouXuzhen WangXiaoni GanYaping ZhangDavid M.IrwinRichard L.MaydenShunping He
Nineteen taxa representing 10 genera of Sisoridae were subjected to phylogenetic analyses of sequence data for the nuclear genes Plagl2 and ADNP and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. The three data sets were analyzed separately and combined into a single data set to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among Chinese sisorids. Both Chinese Sisoridae as a whole and the glyptosternoid taxa formed monophyletic groups. The genus Pseudecheneis is likely to be the earliest diverging extant genus among the Chinese Sisoridae. The four Pareuchiloglanis species included in the study formed a monophyletic group. Glaridoglanis was indicated to be earliest diverging glyptosternoid, followed by Glyptosternon maculatum and Exostoma labiatum. Our data supported the conclusion that Oreoglanis and Pseudexostoma both formed a monophyletic group. On the basis of the fossil record and the results of a molecular dating analysis, we estimated that the Sisoridae diverged in the late Miocene about 12.2 Mya. The glyptosternoid clade was indicated to have diverged, also in the late Miocene, about 10.7 Mya, and the more specialized glyptosternoid genera, such as Pareuchiloglanis, originated in the Pleistocene (within 1.9 Mya). The speciation of glyptosternoid fishes is hypothesized to be closely related with the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
