Diversification of Sisorid catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) in relation to the orogeny of the Himalayan Plateau

Sisorid catfishes are primarily limited in distribution to rivers of the Himalayan region and Tibetan Plateau. These species have external morphologies that are adapted for extremely fast-flowing riverine systems. Given the diversity of the group and the above qualities of these catfishes, this lineage serves as an ideal group for inferring the geological history of this region based on their phylogenetic relationships reflecting evolutionary history. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome and four nuclear genes of representative sisorids distributed across river systems in China. Phylogenetic analyses strongly support the monophyly of the Sisoridae and the glyptosternoids. An analysis of the reconstructed ancestral states derived from inferred genealogical relationships suggests that the evolution of this lineage was accompanied by convergent evolution in morphological traits that were presumably in response to environmental pressure involving the rapid flowing river system that were generated during the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau (UTP). Molecular dating indicates that the Chinese sisorids and the glyptosternoids originated at the later Miocene (~ 10.9−9.8 Mya), and with further biogeographic analyses indicates that the species of Sisoridae likely originated from a widely distributed ancestor. Moreover, the divergence of the Sisoridae in China can be divided into two phases consistent with the UTP. All of these results indicate that the diversification and dispersal events in this lineage occurred as a result of drainage systems formed during and after the UTP in the late Miocene and Quaternary periods.