TAXONOMY AND GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF PANGASIIDAE, ASIAN CATFISHES, BASED ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR ANALYSES
Abstract: Pangasiids are
economically important riverine catfishes generally residing in freshwater from
the Indian subcontinent to the Indonesian Archipelago. The systematics of this
family are still poorly known. Consequently, lack of such basic information
impedes the understanding of the biology of the Pangasiids and the study of
their aquaculture potential as well as improvement of seed production and
growth performance. The objectives of the present study are to clarify
phylogeny of this family based on a biometric analysis and molecular evidence
using 12S ribosomal mtDNA on the total of 1070 specimens. The study revealed
that 28 species are recognised as valid in Pangasiidae. Four genera are also
recognized as Helicophagus Bleeker 1858, Pangasianodon Chevey 1930,
Pteropangasius Fowler 1937, and Pangasius Valenciennes 1840 instead of two as
reported by previous workers. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the
recognised genera, and genetic relationships among taxa. Overall, trees from
the different analyses show similar topologies and confirm the hypothesis
derived from geological history, palaeontology, and similar models in other
taxa of fishes from the same area. The oldest genus may already have existed
when the Asian mainland was still connected to the islands in the southern part
about 20 million years ago.
Keywords: taxonomy; genetic;
morphology; molecular; catfish; pangasiidae
Author: Rudhy Gustiano,
Laurent Pouyaud
Journal Code: jpperikanangg070018
