Abstract:
A total of 18 nominal species in genus Siganus (Siganidae) is classified based on
morphological features and colouration patterns. The remarkable morphological
similarities and the intermediate morphological characters resulted in taxonomic
confusion in Siganidae. Although a series of phylogenetic studies have been conducted,
the research on divergence time and evolutionary history of rabbitfish are still lacking.
This study was conducted to 1) determine the morphological characteristics of Siganus
species collected from Terengganu Waters 2) show the patterns of phylogenetic
diversification of siganids and 3) infer the time of divergence of the species by using the
time-calibrated phylogeny. The phylogenetic tree of Siganus species was reconstructed
based on mitochondrial DNA sequences of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and nuclear
DNA sequences of rhodopsin retrogene. The results were compared with morphological
analysis outcomes. The Bayesian Inference (BI) and Neighbour-Joining (NJ) analyses of
both genes produced phylogeny structure that are not identical due to the inconsistent
placement of S. argenteus.