In a recent morphological phylogenetic investigation of Boraras (Conway, 2005), the blotched species (B.
maculatus and B. micros) and striped species (B. brigittae and B. urophthalmoides) were recovered in different
clades and not each other’s closest relatives. This was due to the recovery of a sister group relationship between the
two smallest members of the genus, the blotched B. micros and striped B. urophthalmoides. The results of a recent
molecular phylogenetic investigation on danionines (Tang et al., 2010) also suggested that the blotched and striped
species of Boraras are not monophyletic groups. Contrary to Conway (2005), Tang et al. (2010) recovered the
striped species B. urophthalmoides as the sister group to all remaining species of Boraras and the blotched species
B. maculatus as the sister group to a clade composed of B. cf. micros (actually B. naevus; K. W. Conway pers. obs),
B. brigittae and B. merah. Given these conflicting results and the discovery of additional blotched Boraras diversity, the intrarelationships of Boraras may be worth revisiting.
Comparative material