Phylogenetic relationships among ten sole species (Soleidae, Pleuronectiformes) from the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences.

The entire sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and 2 partial sequences of the ribosomal RNA12S and 16S genes have been used to study the molecular phylogeny in 10 species of soles belonging to the genera Solea, Monochirus, Microchirus, Dicologlossa, and Synaptura from the Atlantic waters of the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain). The results obtained by means of different phylogenetic analyses (maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and neighbor-joining) were quite similar, supporting the monophyly of the Solea species. Nevertheless, they favor the differentiation of Dicologlossa cuneata and Dicologlossa hexophthalma in 2 distinct genera, since the most closely related species to the last one is Microchirus azevia. The fact that M. azevia is also more closely linked to Monochirus hispidus than to its congeneric Microchirus boscanion argues in favor of a taxonomic reorganization of these genera.