SRA

Systematic relationships within the family Cheilodactylidae have been uncertain for over a century. This family has a disjunct distribution that has led to regionally-focused studies that have only exacerbated taxonomic confusion. Here we examine systematic relationships within the Cheilodactylidae using ultraconserved genomic elements with near complete taxonomic sampling. We place our results in the context of the Cirrhitoidei – a suborder of five closely related families, and revise the taxonomy of Cheilodactylidae and Latridae. Our results agree with previous findings suggesting that Cheilodactlyidae is polyphyletic, with the type species of the family, Cheilodactylus fasciatus Lacépède, forming a clade with C. pixi Smith that together is more closely related to the Chironemidae than to other cheilodactylids. We also find the majority of cheilodactylids are placed within the Latridae. As a result of our analyses we revise the taxonomy of these two families, name a new genus, and re-elevate Goniistius and Morwong.