The interrelationships of Acanthomorph fishes: A total evidence approach using molecular and morphological data

DNA sequence and morphological data were analyzed for specimens of twenty-five species of acanthomorph fishes and two specimens representing the outgroups Aulopiformes and Myctophiformes. A 572 base-pair (bp) segment of the 12S ribosomal mitochondrial gene, 1112 bp from three regions of the 28S ribosomal nuclear gene, and 38 morphological transformation series were analyzed under the criterion of maximum parsimony. The total evidence analysis resulted in a set of four most parsimonious trees. Relationships common to all trees are largely congruent with the hypothesis articulated by Johnson and Patterson (1993. Bull. Mar. Sci. 52, 554-626).