Research Training ProgramSmithsonian
Institution
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| Heidi R. Shoup Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Dr. Lynne Parenti, Ph.D. "The Smithsonian deserves the highest accolade for offering such a wonderfully comprehensive learning experience in Natural History to students from around the world. It has truly been an honor to have worked closely with two of the Smithsonian's finest scientists." |
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Is the Old World Killifish Family Aplocheilidae Monophyletic?
ABSTRACT
The cyprinodontiforms, or killifishes, topminnows, and toothcarps, are a large and diverse group of teleosts, distributed broadly throughout a variety of fresh and brackish habitats. Aplocheilidae, also known as Old World Rivulines, comprises about eight genera and 185 species within the order Cyprinodontiformes. Initial phylogenetic systematic or cladistic studies of this family based primarily on osteological and some morphological characters recognized this family as being monophyletic. Though ongoing morphological studies support the monophyly of Aplocheilidae, a recent molecular study refutes it. The main objective of the present study was to fully illustrate and examine the osteology of the Old World killifish family Aplocheilidae, and to gather more detailed osteological and other morphological data to address the conflict just noted. Aplocheilid osteology was represented by Pachypanchax playfairi through thirteen original osteological illustrations. The illustrations were drawn from cleared and stained specimens using a drawing tube attached to a Zeiss SV8 stereomicroscope. The next question was addressed by looking at 40 morphological characters (primarily osteological) from 22 taxa of cleared and stained specimens from the USNM and AMNH collections. Observations from this study have supported monophyly of Cyprinodontiformes and Aplocheilidae. More observations are needed to resolve whether or not the combined analysis of molecular and morphological data support Aplocheilidae as monophyletic.
I would like to graciously thank the Office of the Director (Mr. Robert Fri, Director) for funding my research, the Smithsonian museum for use of its facilities and the creation of this program, Jeff Clayton for his advice and excellent assistance, and I would like to thank Drs. Lynne R. Parenti and Stanley H. Weitzman for their immeasurable help on this project.