Evolution of the freshwater eels.

The freshwater anguillid eels have an unusual life history and world-wide distribution. Questions about the phylogenetic relationships of this group and how their long spawning migrations and larval phase may contribute to their global distribution have not been addressed. This paper is first presentation of molecular phylogeny of Anguilla species, and based on this phylogenetic tree we suggest new aspect of the evolution of this group. Namely, ancestral eels originated during the Eocene or earlier, in the western Pacific Ocean near present-day Indonesia. A group derived from this ancestor dispersed westward, probably by larval transport in the global circum-equatorial current through the northern edge of the Tethys Sea. This group split into the ancestor of the European and American eels, which entered into the Atlantic Ocean, and a second group, which dispersed southward and split into the east African species and Australian species. Thus the world-wide distribution of the eel family can be understood from knowledge of continental drift, ocean currents, a specialized larva and evolutionary forces favoring dispersal and speciation of segregated gene pool.