Estimation of Divergence Times in Malaysian Barb using Cytochrome b Gene

Chronogram Estimation among Puntius species were conducted on 40 specimensbelong to ten different barbs obtained from five locations in Peninsular Malaysia.Divergence times were estimated using the tree topology of protein codingcytochrome b (Cytb) gene resulting from the Bayesian analysis and BEAST package.Fossil- based calibration points were used and two fossil dates were entered as priorsto provide a timeframe for other node estimates, with time values assigned lognormaldistributions. Time of most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) and Upper and Lower95% credible intervals were calculated. The divergence time estimated using Cytbdata and fossil evidence for Puntius was about 26.15 million years ago (26.08-28.22)supporting their early Oligocene origin.

Keywords:

Divergence Time , Fossil , Puntius , Cytochrome b , Oligocene