Systematics of European coastal anchovies (genus Engraulis Cuvier)

François Bonhomme (1) , Laura Meyer (1) , Christine Arbiol (1) , Daniela Bănaru (2) , Lilia Bahri‐sfar (3) , Karima Fadhlaoui‐zid (4) , Petr Strelkov (5) , Marco Arculeo (6) , Laurent Soulier (7) , Jean‐pierre Quignard (8) , Pierre‐alexandre Gagnaire (1)

1 UMR ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier
2 MIO - Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie
3 Biodiversité, Parasitologie et Ecologie des Écosystèmes Aquatiques, LR18ES05, 2092, Faculté des 11 Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis
4 INSTM - Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer [Salammbô]
5 SPBU - Saint Petersburg State University
6 Università degli studi di Palermo - University of Palermo
7 Centre pour l'Aquaculture, la Pêche et l'Environnement en Nouvelle-Aquitaine
8 Académie des Sciences et Lettres de Montpellier

Reports of morphological differences between European anchovy (Engraulis cf. encrasicolus) from coastal and marine habitats have long existed in the ichthyologic literature and have given rise to a long-standing debate on their taxonomic status. More recently, molecular studies have confirmed the existence of genetic differentiation between the two anchovy ecotypes. Using ancestry-informative markers, we show that coastal anchovies throughout the Mediterranean share a common ancestry and that substantial genetic differentiation persists in different pairs of coastal/marine populations despite the presence of limited gene flow. On the basis of genetic and ecological arguments, we propose that coastal anchovies deserve a species status of their own (E. maeoticus) and argue that a unified taxonomical framework is critical for future research and management.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

François Bonhomme, Laura Meyer, Christine Arbiol, Daniela Bănaru, Lilia Bahri‐sfar, et al.. Systematics of European coastal anchovies (genus Engraulis Cuvier). Journal of Fish Biology, 2021, 100 (2), pp.594-600. ⟨10.1111/jfb.14964⟩. ⟨hal-03589330⟩