New insights into the biogeographic and karyotypic evolution of Hoplias malabaricus

Hoplias malabaricus is a species widely distributed throughout Brazil. Cytogenetic studies indicate the occurrence of extensive chromosomal rearrangements in population differentiation and speciation of the group that demonstrated an independent origin of sex chromosome systems. Seven karyomorphs were characterized for the species and are located in specific river basins, while others are distributed throughout several different basins. However, there are few studies linking the geographical distribution of H. malabaricus karyomorphs to the Brazilian hydrographic basins. This article provides new chromosomal information on five populations of H. malabaricus collected in a South Atlantic basin. The samples were analyzed by conventional and molecular cytogenetic techniques. Two karyomorphs, A (2n=42 m/sm) and C (2n=40 m/sm), were detected, and remarkable differences in the distribution of heterochromatin and GC-rich blocks were observed in the karyomorphs. A review of existing data is presented here, where we observe that dispersion is associated with the genesis of the South and Central America river basins. Coastal drainages represent an ancestral biogeographical component for many groups of fish, representing older basins, such as the basins of the Eastern Atlantic and San Francisco river, suggesting that existing karyomorphs found in these basins may represent a basal karyotype (karyomorph F) within H. malabaricus. The current cytogenetic data, including this article, for different karyomorphs of H. malabaricus in conjunction with the geological history of the continent allow us to determine that the ancestral group is most likely karyomorph F.