Phylogenomics of Cypriniformes, the most diverse order of freshwater fishes: consensus, challenges and limitations.

A first phylogenomic analysis of Cypriniformes with 316 species (~30% of described genera) establishes the backbone topology, resolving many conflicts and strengthening miniaturized-lineage relationships.

• Why it matters: Cypriniformes are the most species-rich freshwater fish order (~5,000 species), yet key miniaturized lineages have had contentious placements, limiting understanding of freshwater vertebrate diversification.
• What they did: The study integrates 257 newly assembled genomes with public data and tests multiple genome-wide marker sets using concatenation and coalescent-aware phylogenomic approaches.
• The result: Analytical frameworks show general concordance that enables identification of well-supported clades and persistent conflict, while distinguishing biological processes from model artefacts to guide future comparative research.