Evolutionary Relationships of the Plagopterins (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from Cytochrome<i>b</i>Sequences

Sequences of cytochrome b (cytb) were used to examine composition and phylogenetic relationships of cyprinid fishes of the tribe Plagopterini, endemic to the Great Basin and Lower Colorado River in southwestern North America. The plagopterin genera, Lepidomeda, Meda, Plagopterus, and Snyderichthys, were most closely affiliated with the chubs Couesius and Margariscus of northern and eastern North America. As indicated by previous morphologic, allozymic, and mtDNA studies, Snyderichthys is intimately related to Lepidomeda. The relationship is paraphyletic, however, according to our molecular data. Snyderichthys from the Snake and Bear River drainages are part of a clade that includes Lepidomeda mollispinis and Lepidomeda albivallis according to the cytb sequence, with Snyderichthys from the central and southern Bonneville basin more divergent. This paraphyly and the complex geographic relationships of mtDNA sequences indicate a complex history of the group and cast doubt on the validity of morphologically diagnosed Snyderichthys. Estimates of divergence time, based on a combination of fossil and molecular data, indicate that the plagopterins are an ancient clade, at least 17 million years old.