Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Marine Biology (2022) 169:95 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-022-04082-3 ORIGINAL PAPER The evolutionary history of Priolepis (Gobiidae) in the Atlantic ocean Thais L. Quintão 1,2  · Ryan Andrades 1  · Raphael M. Macieira 1  · Ana Carolina Loss 3  · Jean‑Christophe Joyeux 1 Received: 31 August 2021 / Accepted: 7 June 2022 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022 Abstract Priolepis (Gobiidae) is a genus of cryptobenthic fshes with a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical oceans. In the Atlantic, it is represented by P. ascensionis, P. dawsoni, P. hipoliti, and P. robinsi. With the exception of the latter, these species have their distribution limited by known biogeographic barriers signaling allopatric origins. In the present study, we used phylogenetic/phylogeographic approaches to uncover the evolutionary history of Priolepis in the Atlantic by testing three hypotheses: (i) The closure of the Tethyan Passage gave rise to a monophyletic Atlantic lineage; (ii) The formation of the Amazon Barrier divided the species into southwestern and northwestern Atlantic lineages; and (iii) Dispersal from Brazil across the Mid-Atlantic Barrier gave rise to the Santa Helena and Ascension Islands lineage. Neither hypothesis was refuted by our results. Phylogenies recovered the monophyly of the Atlantic Priolepis clade and its isolation from the Western Indian/ Pacifc Ocean ~ 16.9 million years ago. A few million years later (14-10 Mya), the emergence of the Amazon Barrier divided Priolepis into a southwestern and a northwestern ancestral. The closure of the Isthmus of Panama, as well as Pliocene and Pleistocene climatic variations, had an important infuence on the formation of the diferent lineages within P. dawsoni, and P. hipoliti. During the Pleistocene, the occupation of the Vitoria-Trindade chain may have favored dispersal to the Mid-Atlantic islands, infuencing the origin of P. ascensionis. Our results also highlight the great ability of P. dawsoni and P. hipoliti to maintain connectivity between remote areas and diferent habitats, a singular pattern among Brazilian cryptobenthic fshes. Keywords Gobiidae · Cryptobenthic · Biogeography · Vitória-Trindade chain · Seamounts Introduction Cryptobenthic reef fshes (CRFs)—characterized by their small size (typically less than 5 cm) and cryptic benthic- associated behavior—have recently received considerable attention due to their high species diversity and underap- preciated support for reef ecosystem dynamics, given that they fuel reef trophodynamics (Brandl et al. 2018; 2019). Within this universe of cryptodiversity, hyper-speciose gob- ies (Gobiidae) exhibit high rates of diversifcation (Patzner et al. 2011; Tornabene et al. 2013a), miniaturization (Patzner et al. 2011; Tornabene et al. 2016a), and low rates of mor- phological divergence (Thacker 2014). These and other attributes, such as broad distribution, short lifespan, and high abundance, make gobies good model organisms for illuminating evolutionary and biogeographic processes in reef fauna. As a result, much phylogenetic research in recent years has focused on gobies (e.g., Taylor and Hellberg 2005; 2006; Tornabene et al. 2010; Maxfeld et al. 2012; Van Tas- sel et al. 2015; Rodríguez-Rey et al. 2017) but, in light of Responsible Editor: O. Puebla. * Thais L. Quintão thaislquintao@hotmail.com Ryan Andrades ryanandrades@gmail.com Raphael M. Macieira raphaelmacieira@hotmail.com Ana Carolina Loss carol.loss@gmail.com Jean-Christophe Joyeux jean.joyeux@ufes.br 1 Laboratório de Ictiologia, Departamento de Oceanografa, CCHN, Universidade Federal Do Espírito Santo, Av. Fernando Ferrari 514, Goiabeiras, Vitória, ES 29075-910, Brazil 2 Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Oceanografa Ambiental, Departamento de Oceanografa, Universidade Federal Do Espírito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil 3 Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica, Av. Jose Ruschi, 4, Centro, Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo 29650000, Brazil