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Twenty-one molecular genetic studies of thirteen antitropical Pacific fishes are herein reviewed. High dispersal potentials and Plio-Pleistocene transequatorial divergence are suggested for approximately half of the taxa studied, consistent with movement across the tropics during glacial periods. Divergences within two fish groups were mid-Miocene in age, corresponding to a period suggested for vicariant isolation associated with equatorial warming, but high dispersal potentials complicate the interpretation of biogeographic history. Only one study suggested transequatorial divergence older than 20 million years. There is a greater proportion of Pleistocene transequatorial divergences in the East Pacific than the West Pacific, consistent with the suggestion that conditions in the East Pacific are more amenable to the formation of antitropical distributions. Multiple transequatorial divergences have been observed within at least two groups, and instances of cryptic speciation have been identified twice. Areas for future research concern taxa that differ from the majority studied to date with respect to latitudinal distribution, bathymetry, evolutionary age, and dispersal potential. Molecular characters have demonstrated utility for the study of antitropical fishes, but with limitations.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	dispersal - vicariance - divergence time - molecular clocks - cryptic speciation - bipolar
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Evolutionary Biology
Research Field:	Biogeography and Phylogeography
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Author:	Burridge, CP (Dr Christopher Burridge)
ID Code:	59327
Year Published:	2000
Web of Science® Times Cited:	32
Deposited By:	Zoology
Deposited On:	2009-11-27
Last Modified:	2011-08-04
Downloads:	2 View Download Statistics