Polyphyly of the mail-cheeked fishes (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes): evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data

Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data for 105 acanthomorph taxa are analyzed to address questions of scorpaeniform monophyly and relationships. The combination of 3425 aligned base pairs from the mitochondrial small subunit rDNA (12S), large subunit rDNA (16S), and tRNA-Val and the nuclear large subunit rDNA (28S), histone H3, and TMO-4c4 loci are analyzed. Representatives of all scorpaeniform suborders and 32 of 36 scorpaeniform families are included with most suborders represented by multiple species. In addition to 69 scorpaeniform taxa, 36 outgroup taxa, including representatives of most families previously conjectured to be related to the Scorpaeniformes, are analyzed due to serious concerns of scorpaeniform monophyly. The traditionally recognized scorpaeniform fishes are recovered as polyphyletic. The 13 representatives of the Atheriniformes, Blennioidei, Gasterosteoidei, Grammatidae, Notothenioidei, Percidae, Trichodontidae, and Zoarcoidei included in the analysis are all nested within the least inclusive clade that includes all traditionally recognized scorpaeniforms. The scorpaenoid lineage is widely polyphyletic, and its intrarelationships differed significantly from previous hypotheses. The cottoid lineage is paraphyletic with only the presence of the Trichodontidae, as the sister-taxon of the Cottoidei, disrupting the traditional subordinal hypothesis of relationships.