![]() Besides playing an important role as a major constituent of the ecologically important herbivore/detrivore guilds in African freshwaters, Distichodus is also of considerable socio-economic importance, as many species constitute a highly valued, but increasingly over-exploited, component of artisanal and commercial fisheries across the continent, and due to their high fecundity and herbivorous diet are increasingly being cultured in fish farms and lentic water bodies, particularly in western Africa. ![]() lusosso, have been characterized as dietary generalists feeding on a range of both plant and animal materials. Most species are primarily herbivorous, feeding almost entirely on periphyton, macrophytes, and detritus, although some, such as D. Although general aspects of the biology of the genus are poorly documented, a few studies indicate that most species are typically diurnally active and found primarily in lentic habitats shoaling in and around grasses along vegetated river banks and swamps. Distichodus species are distributed across the continent, occurring throughout the freshwaters of most of sub-Saharan Africa and the river basins of the Nilo-Sudan, with representation in six of the nine ichthyofaunal provinces of continental Africa (Fig. Historical biogeographic findings are both in agreement and conflict with previous studies of other continent-wide African freshwater fish genera, suggesting a complex scenario for the assemblage of Africa’s continental ichthyofaunal communities.ĭistichodus, the type genus of the endemic African characiform family Distichodontidae, is a morphologically distinctive and moderately speciose lineage of endemic African freshwater fishes. fasciolatus) revealed by the resulting phylogenies are likely a consequence of post-divergence introgressive hybridization and/or incomplete lineage sorting due to recent speciation. The few instances of species paraphyly ( D. We present the most comprehensive phylogenetic, chronological, and biogeographic treatment yet conducted for the genus. Biogeographic reconstruction on a time-scaled phylogeny suggest that the origins of the genus date back to the late Oligocene and that current geographic distributions are the result of a Congo Basin origin followed by dispersal and range expansion into adjacent ichthyofaunal provinces at different times during the evolutionary history of the group. ResultsĪnalyses of comparative DNA sequence data in a phylogenetic context reveal the existence of two major clades of similar species-level diversity and provide support for the monophyletic status of most sampled species. This study investigates the phylogenetic relationships, timing of diversification, and biogeographic history of the genus from a taxonomically comprehensive mutilocus dataset analyzed using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian methods of phylogenetic inference, coalescence-based species-tree estimation, divergence time estimation, and inference of geographic range evolution. Send us feedback about these examples.Distichodus is a clade of tropical freshwater fishes currently comprising 25 named species distributed continent-wide throughout the Nilo-Sudan and most Sub-Saharan drainages. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'genus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Jennifer Calfas, wsj.com, Native plants, bonsais, orchids, and aroids (which include the ever-popular Monstera genus) will all be represented. Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, The new genus is among several identified by an international group of scientists in a study published recently in the journal Systematic Entomology. Jennifer Calfas, wsj.com, The plant category, or genus, is Monstera, but several different species go by the same common name of Swiss cheese plant. Madeline Bodin, Smithsonian Magazine, The genus Saurona includes two species-Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera-though there are likely more to discover, according to the Natural History Museum in London. ![]() 2021 The genus of fireflies that Heckscher studies, the Photuris, are particularly difficult to identify. 2023 But an international team of scientists reported in the journal Nature that the first sequencing of the dire wolf genome showed an unexpectedly large genetic separation between the two species, big enough that the dire wolf is not just a separate species but a separate genus. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. ![]() 2023 The creature is a juvenile snailfish of an unknown species from the genus Pseudoliparis, according to a statement from the University of Western Australia. Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. Recent Examples on the Web The Diplodocus, a genus of sauropod dinosaurs, has an instantly-recognizable shape and stance.
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