Origins and relationships of the Pleuronectoidei: Molecular and morphological analysis of living and fossil taxa

Flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) are a species‐rich and distinct group of fishes characterized by cranial asymmetry. Flatfishes occupy a wide diversity of habitats, including the tropical deep‐sea and freshwaters, and often are small‐bodied fishes. Most scientific effort, however, has been focused on large‐bodied temperate marine species important in fisheries.

Phylogenetic study of flatfishes has also long been limited in scope and focused on the placement and monophyly of flatfishes. As a result, several questions in systematic biology have persisted that molecular phylogenetic study can answer. We examine the Pleuronectoidei, the largest suborder of Pleuronectiformes with>99% of species diversity of the order, in detail with a multilocus nuclear and mitochondrial data set of 57 pleuronectoids from 13 families covering a wide range of habitats.

We combine the molecular data with a morphological matrix to construct a total evidence phylogeny that places fossil flatfishes among extant lineages. Utilizing a time‐calibrated phylogeny, we examine the timing of diversification, area of origin and ancestral temperature preference of Pleuronectoidei. We find polyphyly or paraphyly of two flatfish families, the Paralichthyidae and the Rhombosoleidae, and support the creation of two additional families— Cyclopsettidae and Oncopteridae —to resolve their non‐monophyletic status.

Our findings also support the distinctiveness of Paralichthodidae and refine the placement of that lineage. Despite a core fossil record in Europe, the observed recent diversity of pleuronectoids in the Indo‐West Pacific is most likely a result of the Indo‐West Pacific being the area of origin for pleuronectoids and the ancestral temperature preference of flatfishes is most likely tropical. KEYWORDS Ancestral Range Reconstruction, biogeography, Carangimorpharia, Indo‐West Pacific, Pleuronectiformes, systematics