Phylogenetic relationships among seven fish species of the order Clupeiformes inferred from allozyme variation

The order Clupeiformes includes the seven common fish species in Japanese waters : Etrumens teres, Spratelloides gracilis, Sardinops melanostictus, Sardinella zunasi, Clupea pallasii, Konosirus punctatus and Engraulis japonicus. The phylogenetic relationships and allozyme variation were studied in these seven species from Japanese waters by electrophoretic analysis of 14 different enzymes. From the allozyme variation observed in 19 genetic loci scored, it was calculated that the average heterozygosities （H values） are in the range of 4.8-8.6％, with a mean of 6.1％. These H values were comparable to those of many other fishes. The molecular phylogenetic tree for the seven species which was constructed from Nei’s genetic distances indicated the following : （1） Among seven species of the order Clupeiformes, the seven species were divided into the two large clusters : one is the group of E. teres, S. gracilis and C. pallasii, the other is the group of S. zunasi, K. punctatus, S. melanostictus and E. japonicus. （2） In the first cluster, E. teres and S. gracilis are closely related to each other. （3） In the second cluster, S. melanostictus is most closely related to E. japonicus, and further the present molecular study also showed the close relationship between S. zunasi and K. punctatusmus. （4） Clupea pallasii of the subfamily Clupeinae is the most primitive and ancestral type of the seven species. These molecular results were discussed through the comparison with other non-molecular evidence