Fish Diversity in the Red Sea

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 896

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt a.M., Germany
Interests: phylogeography, population genetics and taxonomy of fish of the Arabian Sea; Indo-Pacific

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Guest Editor
Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Interests: biodiversity, ecology and zoology of marine organisms; zoological monitoring projects epibenthos and endobenthos; focus areas North Sea; Eastern Central Atlantic and Red Sea

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Guest Editor
Museum Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Melbourne, Australia
Interests: management; marine ecology; fisheries science; natural history; zoology; ichthyology; endangered species; distribution; conservation; marine biodiversity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Red Sea, in its present-day appearance with its only natural opening in the south (to the Indian Ocean), is a relatively young ecosystem but has experienced extraordinary environmental change due to periodic isolation related to Pleistocene sea-level changes. Environmental conditions in the Red Sea change drastically within a latitudinal range of 2000 kilometers, especially with respect to declining salinity and increasing temperature and nutrient concentrations from North to South. The shallow connection to the Indian Ocean and warm deep-sea waters prevented colonization of the Red Sea by primary deep-sea fishes, and a unique secondary deep-sea fish fauna evolved. Notwithstanding, or because of its distinctive features, the Red Sea—with more than 1200 fish species recorded—harbors the most diverse fish fauna of any of the world’s peripheral seas.

The diversity of fishes in the Red Sea, particularly those associated with coral reefs, has fascinated researchers and laypersons for more than two centuries. In the course of continued studies, the taxonomic status of many species has been subject to repeated change since fish species were first described. Many species found in the Red Sea have subsequently been placed in synonymy of Indo-Pacific congeners, resulting in a decrease in the recognized numbers of endemics. Only in recent years, as a consequence of intensified research efforts and by application of integrative taxonomic approaches, has a much higher degree of endemism become apparent. Studies on the phylogeography of Red Sea fishes, population genetics and their evolutionary genomics have shed light on evolutionary processes fundamental to our understanding of the unique present-day Red Sea fish fauna. This Special Issue will present a variety of studies on Red Sea fishes, including their taxonomy, phylogeography and evolutionary genetics, and manuscripts on a broad range of ichthyological research are invited.

Dr. Tilman J. Alpermann
Dr. Moritz Sonnewald
Dr. Barry Russell
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • ichthyological exploration
  • integrative taxonomy
  • phylogeography
  • population genetics
  • evolutionary genomics
  • community dynamics
  • ecological adaptations
  • conservation and management

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 3571 KiB  
Article
Contributions to the Taxonomy of the Mugilid Genus Moolgarda Whitley (Teleostei: Mugilidae), with Redescriptions of M. crenilabis, M. seheli and M. tade from the Red Sea
by Sergey V. Bogorodsky, Philipp Thieme, Hiroshi Senou, Zuheir N. Mahmoud, Tilman J. Alpermann and Jean-Dominique Durand
Diversity 2024, 16(6), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16060325 - 30 May 2024
Viewed by 536
Abstract
The taxonomy of the family Mugilidae has historically posed challenges, marked by discrepancies between described and valid species, compounded by cryptic diversity and a similar external appearance. Previous studies left four of six lineages unidentified within Crenimugil, including Crenimugil sp. A and [...] Read more.
The taxonomy of the family Mugilidae has historically posed challenges, marked by discrepancies between described and valid species, compounded by cryptic diversity and a similar external appearance. Previous studies left four of six lineages unidentified within Crenimugil, including Crenimugil sp. A and Crenimugil sp. B. The goal of this study is to provide a detailed revision of species assigned to Crenimugil by examining specimens from the Red Sea, which is the type locality of Mugil crenilabis, Mugil seheli and Mugil tade, which were here genetically analyzed. After demonstrating that the genus contains nine monophyletic lineages and Moolgarda pura is a valid nominal species, the mugilid genus Moolgarda is restored. Consequently, Moolgarda has priority over Crenimugil and Valamugil. Additional morphological analyses of specimens from the Red Sea assigned to Moolgarda sp. A and Moolgarda sp. B identified them as representing Moolgarda seheli and Moolgarda crenilabis, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis, including new DNA barcodes, confirmed a wide distribution range of both species in the Indo-West Pacific. The identity of the lineage previously identified as Crenimugil crenilabis remains doubtful, and it is referred to as Moolgarda cf. crenilabis here. A third lineage, previously named Crenimugil buchanani, is re-described as Moolgarda tade, a species originally reported from the Red Sea with a long history of taxonomic confusion. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific and distinguished from other congeners by falcate second dorsal and anal fins that are distinctly higher than the first dorsal fin. A detailed description of the Red Sea specimens of M. crenilabis, M. seheli and M. tade is provided, with comments to other unnamed lineages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish Diversity in the Red Sea)
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