Putting European lampreys into perspective: A global-scale multilocus phylogeny with a proposal for a generic structure of the Petromyzontidae

Previous studies on the phylogenetic relationships between lamprey species relied either on a low number of morphological characters related to the feeding apparatus, or on a low number of molecular mitochondrial DNA markers. Here, we apply a multilocus approach to assess the phylogenetic relationships of northern hemisphere lampreys, with a special emphasis on the 17 European species. The study comprises two mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene-DNA barcodes, and cytochrome b gene) and two nuclear (internal transcribed spacers I and II) markers to investigate species' phylogenetic affinities. The phylogeny obtained with mitochondrial markers revealed a clear and highly supported separation of all northern hemisphere lampreys. Among those, our multilocus results show several polyphyletic genera, stressing the need for a taxonomic revision in a near future. Lampetra morii (Berg, 1931) from East Asia, often included in Eudontomyzon, is placed in the genus Lethenteron. Lampetra richardsoni Vladykov & Follett, 1965 and Entosphenus hubbsi (Vladykov & Kott, 1976) should be placed in a new genus, as well as the southern populations of Lethenteron camtschaticum (Tilesius, 1811) and Lethenteron reissneri (Dybowski, 1869). Considering European species, our results argue for a taxonomic revision of Eudontomyzon, with emphasis on Eudontomyzon vladykovi Oliva & Zanandrea, 1959.

Automated summary

Studies on the phylogenetic relationships of northern hemisphere lampreys, focusing on European species, reveal polyphyletic genera and suggest the need for taxonomic revision in the future. Newly proposed genus assignments for Lampetra morii, Lampetra richardsoni, Entosphenus hubbsi, as well as southern populations of Lethenteron camtschaticum and Lethenteron reissneri, highlight the complexity and importance of further research in this field. Additionally, a taxonomic revision of Eudontomyzon, particularly Eudontomyzon vladykovi, is supported by the results.