Integrating Morphology and Molecular Phylogenies for Elucidating Fish Diversity and Complex Evolutionary Patterns

Dear Colleagues,

Many initiatives have been taken to contain or at least mitigate the impact of the process known as 'the biodiversity crisis', where species disappear at an alarming rate, while countless others are rapidly approaching extinction. One of the main obstacles to developing concrete strategies for conserving biodiversity at risk is the lack of basic knowledge about species, especially those living in biodiverse environments or with high rates of endemism, which have historically received little attention. This applies well to groups of fish living in a wide array of specialized biotopes (e.g., marshes, seasonal lagoons, fossorial environments, caves, deep river and abyssal zones, and mountain rivers and lakes, among others), containing numerous species unknown to science, as well as exhibiting evolutionary specializations never described. To effectively accelerate the pace of our knowledge about species diversity, studies have often converged on varied integrative approaches, combining morphological studies and molecular phylogenies, which in turn provide a logical basis for interpretations about evolution and biogeography. In this context, this Special Issue intends to act as a vehicle for the dissemination and debate of practical or theoretical studies that, in this integrative perspective, can contribute to better knowledge about species diversity and their evolutionary patterns.

Prof. Dr. Wilson J.E.M. Costa
Dr. José Leonardo de Oliveira Mattos
Dr. Axel Makay Katz
Guest Editors

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• species delimitation
• integrative taxonomy
• molecular systematics