Molecular and morphological evidences resolve taxonomic ambiguity between Systomus sarana sarana (Hamilton, 1822) and S. sarana subnasutus (Valenciennes) and suggest elevating them into distinct species

Abstract

Taxonomic ambiguity exists in genus Systomus and recently many new species were described under this genus. Systomus sarana subnasutus is considered a valid subspecies of S. sarana sarana although revisions have been done by some researchers. We employed a combination of morpho-meristics and molecular tools (Cytochrome c oxidase I, 16S and Cytochrome b genes of mitochondrial genome) to resolve the two species. Three morpho-meristic characters, head length/maxillary barbel length (HL/MxBL), Lateral Line Scales (LLSs) as well as two truss-based characters, had discernible variation between the two taxa. The sequence analysis (2353 nucleotides) depicted a separate clad of S. sarana subnasutus with high bootstrap support. The findings from combined use of morphology, meristics and mitogenes were concordant. The corroborative results suggest the possibility of two different species. The results suggest to adopt suitable management measures, accordingly.

Keywords

• systomus
• molecular
• taxonomy
• truss
• phylogeny
• conservation
• india