The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of the zebra turkeyfish Dendrochirus zebra (Cuvier, 1829) (Teleostei: Perciformes)

Dendrochirus zebra, a reef-dewelling scorpaenid, was sequenced for its complete mitochondrial genome (16,504 bp). The circular genome (52.93% A-T content) encodes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs, and one control region (D-loop). Phylogenetic analysis of 22 Scorpaenoidea species placed D. zebra as sister to the clade comprising Pterois antennata and P. radiata, confirming the paraphyly of the traditional genera Dendrochirus and Pterois. This molecular-morphological incongruence suggests traditional diagnostic traits are evolutionarily labile and that the venomous defensive apparatus is likely an ancestral trait rather than a convergent one. This mitogenome provides essential resources for systematic revisions of the Pteroinae.