Abstract

The bonefishes (Albuliformes: Albulidae: Albula) comprise a group of elopiformes that occur worldwide in tropical and subtropical coastal waters, and are highly prized recreational species in many areas of their range. Molecular evidence suggests that at least eight species of bonefishes are found Worldwide. In the western Atlantic, A. vulpes, is thought to be distributed from the Southern portion of Florida (USA) and throughout the Caribbean. However, mitochondrial DNA studies have shown the presence of a genetically distinct cryptic species (Albula sp. B) in the Atlantic, but its distribution is still unknown. In this study we used nucleotide sequence data from a 560-bp segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome B (Cytb) gene to infer the phylogenetic relationships of bonefish from Los Roques Archipelago (LRA) National Park, Venezuela. We also used Cytb sequence data of the shafted bonefish, A. nemoptera, from the coast of Venezuela, to resolve the evolutionary relationships of this morphologically distinct species. Phylogenetic trees based on Bayesian and parsimony methods revealed that bonefish from LRA correspond to the A. vulpes lineage and that A. nemoptera from the coast of Venezuela nested within the A. vulpes complex.

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