Exon-capture data and locus screening provide new insights into the phylogeny of flatfishes (Pleuronectoidei)

There is an extensive collection of literature on the taxonomy and phylogenetics of flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) that extends over two centuries, but consensus on many of their evolutionary relationships remains elusive. Phylogenetic uncertainty stems from highly divergent results derived from morphological and genetic characters, and between various molecular datasets. Deciphering relationships is complicated by rapid diversification early in the Pleuronectiformes tree and an abundance of studies that incompletely and inconsistently sample taxa and genetic markers. We present phylogenies based on a genome-wide dataset (4,434 nuclear markers via exon-capture) and wide taxon sampling (86 species spanning 12 of 16 families) of the largest flatfish suborder (Pleuronectoidei). Nine different subsets of the data and two tree construction approaches (eighteen phylogenies in total) are remarkably consistent with other recent molecular phylogenies, and show strong support for the monophyly of all families included except Pleuronectidae. Analyses resolved a novel phylogenetic hypothesis for the family Rhombosoleidae as being within the Pleuronectoidea rather than the Soleoidea, and failed to support the subfamily Hippoglossinae as a monophyletic group. Our results were corroborated with evidence from previous phylogenetic studies to outline regions of persistent phylogenetic uncertainty and identify groups in need of further phylogenetic inference.