Characid phylogeny (Lucena 1993)

Is the family Characidae monophyletic?

Guillermo Ortí and Richard P. Vari *

The first attempt at a cladistic analysis to include most lineages currently grouped in the "family" Characidae was undertaken by Lucena (1993). We reproduce his results below.

A phylogenetic analysis of the family Characidae, based in part on a classification proposed by Greenwood et al. (1966), is presented. The main findings are expressed as a strict consensus cladogram defined by 122 morphologial characters and 69 terminal taxa. The study suggested a monophyletic status for the family, but that remarkable modifications in characid nomenclature should take place in order to express the results obtained.

Molecular evidence (see Ortí and Meyer, 1997) does not lend support to these results.


              ==================================== Ctenolucius 
           ===|
        ===|  ==================================== Boulengerella 
        |  |
        |  ======================================= Hepsetus 
        |
        |     ==================================== Hoplias 
        |     |
     ===|  ===|  ================================= Erythrinus 
     |  |  |  ===|
     |  |  |     ================================= Hoplerythrinus 
     |  ===|
     |     |     ================================= Pyrrhulina 
     |     |  ===|
     |     ===|  ================================= Nannostomus 
     |        |
     |        ==================================== Lebiasina 
     |
     |        ==================================== Cynodon 
     |     ===|
     |  ===|  ==================================== Rhaphiodon 
     |  |  |
     |  |  ======================================= Acestrorhynchus 
     |  |
     |  |  ======================================= Agoniates 
     |  |  |
     |  |  |              ======================== Gnathocharax 
     |  |  |           ===|
     |  |  |        ===|  ======================== Hoplocharax 
     |  |  |     ===|  |
     |  |  |  ===|  |  =========================== Heterocharax 
     |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  ============================== Lonchogenys 
     |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  ================================= Roestes 
     |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |                          ========= Roeboides p 
     |  |  |  |                       ===|
     |  |  |  |                    ===|  ========= Roeboides sp 
     |  |  |  |                 ===|  |
     |  |  |  |              ===|  |  ============ Eucynopotamus 
     |  |  |  |        ======|  |  |
     |  |  |  |        |     |  |  =============== R.myersi 
     |  |  |  |     ===|     |  |
     |  |  |  |  ===|  |     |  ================== Charax 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |     |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |     ===================== Cynopotamus 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |========================== Acestrocephalus 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  =========================== Galeocharax 
     |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  ============================== Acanthocharax 
     |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  ============================== Roeboexodon 
     |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  =========================== Hemibrycon 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |              ============ Tetragonopterus 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |        ======|
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |        |     ============ Markiana 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  ======|
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     |================= Poptella 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     ================== Moenkhausia gr 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  ===|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |        =============== Piabina 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     ===|
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     |  =============== Creagrutus 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |=====|
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     |  =============== Ctenobrycon 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     ===|
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |        =============== Iguanodectes 
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |     ================== Phenacogaster 
     ===|  |  |  |  |  |  |=====|
        |  |  |  |  |  |  |     ================== Aphyocharax 
        |  |  |  |  |  |  |
        ===|  |  |  |  |  |     ================== Oligosarcus 
           ===|  |  |  |  |=====|
              |  |  |  |  |     ================== Exodon 
              |  |  |  |  |
              |  |  |  |  |     ================== Aphyodite 
              |  |  |  |  |     |
              ===|  |  |  |     |================= Astyanax 
                 |  |  |  |     |
                 |  |  |  |     |================= Bryconamericus 
                 |  |  |  |     |
                 |  |  |  |     |================= Cheirodon 
                 |  |  |  |     |
                 |  |  |  |     |================= Deuterodon 
                 |  |  |  |     |
                 |  |  |  |     |================= Diapoma 
                 ===|  |  |     |
                    ===|  |     |================= Hemigrammus 
                       ===|     |
                          |     |================= Holoshesthes 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Hyphessobrycon 
                          |=====|
                          |     |================= Moenkhausia le 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Odontostilbe 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Othonocheirodus 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Paragoniates 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Parecbasis 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Prionobrama 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Probolodus 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Prodontocharax 
                          |     |
                          |     ================== Pseudocorynopoma 
                          |
                          |     ================== Bryconops 
                          |     |
                          |     |================= Triportheus 
                          |     |
                          |     |     ============ Serrasalmus 
                          |     |     |
                          |     |     |     ====== Brycon 
                          ======|     |  ===|
                                |     |  |  ====== Chalceus 
                                ======|  |
                                      ===|  ====== Alestes 
                                         |  |
                                         ===|  === Hemigrammopetersius 
                                            ===|
                                               === Hydrocynus

References

Greenwood, P. H., D. E. Rosen, S. H. Weitzman, and G. S. Myers. 
	1966. Phyletic studies of teleostean fishes, with a 
	provisional classification of living forms. Bulletin 
	of the American Museum of Natural History 131:339-354.

Lucena, C. A. S. d. 1993. Estudo filogenético da família Characidae 
	com uma discussão dos grupos naturais propostos (Teleostei, Ostariophysi, 
	Characiformes). Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil.

Ortí, G.and A. Meyer. 1997. The radiation of characiform fishes and the limits of 
	resolution of mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences. Syst. Biol. 46:75-100.

About this page

Guillermo Ortí
E-mail: gorti@lamarck.unl.edu
School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
http://bs-biosci.unl.edu/EOB/Orti/default.htm

Richard P. Vari
E-mail: vari.richard@nmnh.si.edu
Division of Fishes, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Guillermo Ortí, at gorti@lamarck.unl.edu

Last saved 17 Feb 1999

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