Differentiation and Evolution of the W Chromosome in the Fish Species of Megaleporinus (Characiformes, Anostomidae).

The W chromosome of Megaleporinus trifasciatus was isolated in order to analyze its behavior in the karyotype of this and other species of the family, including forms with differentiated and undifferentiated sex chromosomes. The chromosome was microdissected, and the WMt probe was prepared for the chromosome painting procedure. M.

Evolutionary divergence among Oligosarcus spp. (Ostariophysi, Characidae) from the São Francisco and Doce River basins: Oligosarcus solitarius Menezes, 1987 shows the highest rates of chromosomal evolution in the Neotropical Region.

The Doce River, in southeastern Brazil, is a coastal drainage, configured since the Late Cretaceous, when South America separated from Africa. Of the 77 native fish species of the Doce River Basin, 37 are potentially endangered-Oligosarcus solitarius, Menezes 1987, is the only endemic species of the quaternary lakes in the middle portion of this drainage and Oligosarcus argenteus, Günther 1864, is distributed in the Doce River channel and headwaters. This study characterizes the morphological, cytogenetic, and mitochondrial DNA variation in the Oligosarcus spp.