STRUCTURAL CHROMOSOME DIVERSIFICATION IN TWO SOUTHERN ATLANTIC MARINE CATFISHES (ARIIDAE)

Siluriforms is one of the most diverse groups of the Neotropical ichthyofauna. About 1,750 species occurs exclusively in the Americas. In view the high number of species, geographical widespread and morphological similarities, there are still many questions about the relationship among some families and species. One of the two families in this Order that inhabit the marine environment, Ariidae shows numerous taxonomic uncertainties. Cytogenetic analysis in Atlantic species are still incipient. To evaluate the karyotype diversity and infer the evolutionary history of this clade are presented here chromosomal data of species Cathorops spixii and Sciades sp. distributed in the northeastern Brazil coastline. Both species have the same diploid number 2n=56, but with marked differences between chromosomal formulas. In fact, C. spixii shows 12m+16sm+24st+4a (NF=108) and Sciades sp. presents 14m+10sm+22st+10a (NF=102). Both species have multiple NORs (nucleolar organizer regions), localized in the terminal portion of two chromosome pairs. The karyotypic patterns of these and other species of Ariidae indicates that pericentric inversion represent that the main mechanism involved in chromosomal diversity of the family. Taxonomic uncertainty in some taxa and the occurrence of interpopulational karyotypic variations in species Ariidae, raise detailed analyzes using the mapping of repetitive sequences in order to identify possible cryptic species in this family along the Brazilian coast. Keywords: Cathorops spixii, Sciades sp., pericentric inversions, fish cytogenetics, marine catfishes