Scale morphology variability in cyprinid fishes and its significance in taxonomy using light and scanning electron microscopy: A case study of the genus Garra Hamilton, 1822 (Teleostei: Cyprinidae).

To evaluate scale morphological variability (shape, size, topological macro- and microstructures, ornamentation patterns) of cyprinid fishes, nine species of the genus Garra were selected and their scales from five different body regions were studied by using light and scanning electron microscopy. The scales of the examined species were thin with a central or antero-centrally positioned focus, with no cteni in the posterior part. In addition to these typical characteristics, some morphological variation was observed in the overall shape (irregular round, true oval, round-triangular, irregular pentagonal, hexagonal, irregular hexagonal, pentagonal, ovoid), and the focus shape.

Molecular phylogenetics of the Clupeiformes based on exon-capture data and a new classification of the order.

The Clupeiformes, including among others herrings, anchovies, shads and menhadens are ecologically and commercially important, yet their phylogenetic relationships are still controversial. Previous classification of Clupeiformes were based on morphological characters or lack of synapomorphic characters. More recent studies based on molecular data as well as new morphological evidence are keeping challenging their phylogenetic relations and there is still no consensus on many interrelationships within the Clupeiformes.

An integrative phylogenetic approach for inferring relationships of fossil gobioids (Teleostei: Gobiiformes).

The suborder Gobioidei is among the most diverse groups of vertebrates, comprising about 2310 species. In the fossil record gobioids date back to the early Eocene (c. 50 m.

First documentation of the otoliths of the species of Gouania (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Otolith morphology is a widely accepted tool for species identification in teleost fish, but whether this holds true for very small species remains to be explored. Here, the saccular otoliths of the cryptobenthic Mediterranean clingfish Gouania (Gobiesocidae) are described for the first time. The new data, although preliminary, indicate that otolith morphology and morphometry support the recognition of the recently differentiated five species of Gouania in the Mediterranean Sea.

Freshwater gobies 30 million years ago: New insights into character evolution and phylogenetic relationships of †Pirskeniidae (Gobioidei, Teleostei).

The modern Gobioidei (Teleostei) comprise eight families, but the extinct †Pirskeniidae from the lower Oligocene of the Czech Republic indicate that further families may have existed in the past. However, the validity of the †Pirskeniidae has been questioned and its single genus †Pirskenius has been assigned to the extant family Eleotridae in previous works. The objective of this study is to clarify the status of the †Pirskeniidae.

New haplochromine cichlid from the upper Miocene (9-10 MYA) of Central Kenya.

Background: The diversification process known as the Lake Tanganyika Radiation has given rise to the most speciose clade of African cichlids. Almost all cichlid species found in the lakes Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria, comprising a total of 12-16 tribes, belong to this clade. Strikingly, all the species in the latter two lakes are members of the tribe Haplochromini, whose origin remains unclear.

New fossil cichlid from the middle Miocene of East Africa revealed as oldest known member of the Oreochromini.

A new genus and species of fossil cichlid fishes of middle Miocene age (12.5 Ma) is described from the Ngorora fish Lagerstätte (Tugen Hills, Kenya) in the East African Rift Valley. Parsimony analysis of morphological characters using published phylogenetic frameworks for extant cichlids combined with the application of a comprehensive best-fit approach based on morphology was employed to place the new fossil taxon in the phylogenetic context of the African cichlids.

†Kenyaichthyidae fam. nov. and †Kenyaichthys gen. nov. - First Record of a Fossil Aplocheiloid Killifish (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes).

The extant Cyprinodontiformes (killifishes) with their two suborders Cyprinodontoidei and Aplocheiloidei represent a diverse and well-studied group of fishes. However, their fossil record is comparatively sparse and has so far yielded members of the Cyprinodontoidei only. Here we report on cyprinodontiform fossils from the upper Miocene Lukeino Formation in the Tugen Hills of the Central Rift Valley of Kenya, which represent the first fossil record of an aplocheiloid killifish.

Correction: Otoliths of five extant species of the annual killifish Nothobranchius from the East African Savannah.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Otoliths of five extant species of the annual killifish Nothobranchius from the East African savannah.

This study presents, for the first time, a comprehensive dataset that documents the range of inter- and intraspecific otolith variation in aplocheiloid killifish, based on a total of 86 individuals representing five extant species of Nothobranchius PETERS, 1868, from East Africa: the sympatric pairs N. rubripinnis SEEGERS, 1986 and N. ruudwildekampi COSTA, 2009 (Eastern Tanzania), and N.

Two new species of the tooth-carp Aphanius (Teleostei: Cyprinodontidae) and the evolutionary history of the Iranian inland and inland-related Aphanius species .

Two new species of Aphanius are described from the Kol drainage in southern Iran (Aphanius darabensis n. sp.) and the endorheic Kavir Basin in northern Iran (A.

An extraordinary gobioid fish fossil from Southern France.

Background: The classification of gobioid fishes is still under discussion. Several lineages, including the Eleotridae and Butidae, remain difficult to characterize because synapomorphies are rare (Eleotridae) or have not yet been determined (Butidae). Moreover, the fossil record of these groups is scarce.

Scale surface microstructure and scale size in the tooth-carp genus Aphanius (Teleostei, Cyprinodontidae) from endorheic basins in Southwest Iran.

A substantial number of species within the tooth-carp Aphanius Nardo, 1827 (Cyprinodontidae, Teleostei) has been recorded from the endorheic drainage systems of Iran, and several isolated populations in these systems may deserve species status. Descriptions of these species and populations have been based mainly on morphological and molecular data; however, the characters related to the fish scales have not up to now been intensively studied and employed for the identification of the species belonging to this genus. The objective of this study is to test as to whether (i) scale surface morphology, (ii) scale surface microstructure, and (iii) scale size can be used to discriminate species and/or populations and, (iv) to discuss the possible causes of the observed differences.

Aphanius arakensis, a new species of tooth-carp (Actinopterygii, Cyprinodontidae) from the endorheic Namak Lake basin in Iran.

A new species of tooth-carp, Aphanius arakensissp. n., is described from the Namak Lake basin in Iran.

Geographic variation in otolith morphology among freshwater populations of Aphanius dispar (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes) from the southeastern Arabian Peninsula.

Aphanius Nardo is a large genus of teleost fishes in the Old World, with 19 described species. Several of these species have only recently been recognized and additional species can be expected from isolated populations in remote areas. We show here that otolith morphology and statistical analyses of otolith variables can contribute to the detection of genetic differentiation in Aphanius.

Combined otolith morphology and morphometry for assessing taxonomy and diversity in fossil and extant killifish (Aphanius, Prolebias).

Systematic assignment of fossil otoliths is virtually always based on studies of otolith morphology and subsequent comparisons with otoliths from collections and/or literature. Although this usually represents a practical method, comparisons and subsequent evaluation may be biased by subjective criteria used in the individual descriptions. Quantitative morphometric studies focusing on variations in the otolith morphology of extant fishes have been conducted in fisheries research, mostly based on Fourier shape analysis and related methods.