According to historical and morphological analyses, it seems that O. 1 and Supplementary Table S4, and references therein). Moreover, it has also been introduced to the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean and Red Sea, and along the eastern coast of Africa (Fig. ![]() punctatus has been identified in another 39 localities on the Atlantic coast of Central and South America, including Panama (1966–1974, three localities), Colombia (1989, one locality), Venezuela (1978–2009, 14 localities), and Brazil (2002–2019, 21 localities) (Fig. punctatus outside its native range were recorded from 1930 to 1963 in five localities on the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and one in Venezuela, in the Western Atlantic Ocean (WAO) 17, 22, 23 (Supplementary Table S3). 1 and Supplementary Table S2, and references therein). It is considered native to the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from the Persian Gulf, in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) and the Arabian Sea, to South-East Asia, Japan, Australia and the Fiji Islands, in the Western Pacific Ocean (WPO) (Fig. Omobranchus punctatus 12 is thought to be one of the most widely distributed blenny species, largely due to transport associated with ship’s ballast water and biofouling, which favour its long-distance dispersal 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. As far as we know, a total of 11 blenny species have so far been introduced far from their native range (Supplementary Table S1): e.g., Petroscirtes breviceps 12 to Papua New Guinea 13, Omobranchus anolius 12 to New Zealand 14, or Parablennius thysanius (Jordan & Seale 1907) to the Hawaiian Islands and the Mediterranean Sea 15, 16. In this context, blennies (Blenniidae) are among the most neglected groups of reef vertebrates 7, despite their high invasive potential 8, 9 and being one of the most diverse families of teleost fishes (with at least 405 species widely distributed in tropical and subtropical habitats) 10, 11. Nevertheless, most genetic and genomic studies on marine alien fishes have been mainly focused on a relatively small number of taxa 6. Ultimately, IAS can lead to significant economic impacts with its associated detrimental effects on human well-being 2.įishes are among the most commonly introduced organisms globally 3, with documented increases over recent decades due to globalization, changes in seawater temperatures, and the ever-increasing magnitude of shipping, aquaculture, fisheries, aquarium trade, and habitat modification (e.g., dams, canals or waterways, urbanization and deforestation) 1, 4, 5. IAS can out-compete native species, act as facilitators of hosts and/or vectors of parasites and pathogens, change the community structure, and alter ecosystem processes, thereby impairing the associated ecosystem function. Invasive alien species (IAS) constitute one of the major threats to marine biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide 1. The existence of historical oceanographic barriers, such as the emergence of the Sunda Shelf in the Eastern Indian Ocean during the Pleistocene, and the biological traits of these blennies are the most likely factors responsible for their genetic differentiation and subsequent speciation. ![]() sewalli was identified as the invasive species colonizing Atlantic shores. sewalli correspond to different species that started to diverge about 2.6 Mya. ![]() Species delimitation analyses performed using the mtDNA data available confirmed that O. punctatus consists of at least five distinct and geographically restricted species: O. Moreover, we provide the first genetic records of introduced populations in Brazil and discuss the introduction pattern of this species in this region. In this study, we used an integrative approach, combining morphological and genetic data, to shed light on the taxonomy and distribution of O. punctatus is a complex of species, with three divergent mtDNA lineages identified to date, stressing the need for a taxonomic revision. However, recent molecular studies indicated that O. Omobranchus punctatus is native to the Indo-Pacific region and invasive in the Atlantic region, currently being considered one of the most widely distributed blenny species.
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