Phylogeography of Notropis stramineus (Cope, 1865)

Authors: Amanda Pinion, Daemin Kim, Kevin Conway

Year: 2019

Abstract

Notropis stramineus (Cope, 1865), the Sand Shiner, is a small minnow with an expansive range. It is distributed across much of the North American continent to the east of the Continental Divide, from northern Mexico (Rio San Juan and Rio Salado) to southern Canada (upper St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes drainage to the east and the Red-Assiniboine River system to the west), spanning regions commonly recognized as phylogeographic barriers. Within the southwestern U.S., N. stramineus is found in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, where it is distributed in most river systems including the Rio Grande system (Pecos and Devils rivers). Despite early taxonomic work, including the recognition of two subspecies (N. s. stramineus and N. s. missuriensis), the Sand Shiner continues to be recognized as a single widespread species. To test the hypothesis that the widespread N. stramineus represents a single species, we gathered one mitochondrial gene (Cytb) and two nuclear loci (S7 and RAG1) representing the breadth of the range. Preliminary analysis of this data suggests that N. stramineus represents several genetically distinct and geographically isolated lineages. Additionally, the current subspecies designations may not accurately represent the true evolutionary history of this species complex.