Genetic analysis of the taxa belonging to the family Sparidae (Pisces: Perciformes) distributed in Turkish coastal waters based on mitochondrial DNA sequences

Seabreams are among the most valuable fish species and consist of approximately 115 species in 33 genera that are largely distributed in tropical and temperate coastal waters. We analyzed a 3562 bp segment of the four mitochondrial regions (16S rDNA, COI, Cyt b genes and control region) of 22 seabream species identified for Turkish coastal waters including the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara and Black Sea to clarify their genus and subfamily level relationships. The phylogenetic trees constructed using four different methods (NJ, MP, ML and BI) showed monophyly of the family Sparidae with paraphyletic their subfamilies. The sparid fishes in Turkish waters are divided into two major groups that contradicts the previous taxonomic hypothesis, which divided the family into three or six subfamily based on their feeding strategies and dentition. The phylogenetic structure obtained with genetic analysis does not explain the presence of subfamilies within Sparidae. Therefore, the unifying characters supporting the existence of these subfamilies within the Sparidae should be investigated. It should be necessary to reconstruct phylogeny between genera within Sparidae. Keywords: Sparidae, mtDNA, phylogeny, Turkish coastal waters