Phylogeny of Oxynoemacheilus bergianus (Derzhavin, 1934) (Nemacheilidae: Cypriniformes) in Iran using osteological characteristics

Abstract

The phylogenetic relationships of Oxynoemacheilus bergianus from three Iranian inland waters, i.e. the Caspian Sea, Namak and Urmia Lake basins were investigated using osteological characters. 21 osteological characters were used and Garra rufa was the out-groups. A phylogenetic analysis based on the described characters resulted four most-parsimonious cladograms (36 steps, CI=0.69, RI=0.5). The strict consensus tree showed that the populations of O. bergianus are monophyletic group. It was confirmed that the populations of Qarehchai, Qezel-ozan and Sefid rivers form a sister group to other examined populations of O. bergianus.