A standardized terminology of spines in the order Siluriformes (Actinopterygii: Ostariophysi)

Freshwater fossil fish faunas have long been used to infer past drainage connections, given that they are bounded by physical freshwater barriers. Here we study a middle Miocene (15.0–15.5 Ma) freshwater fish fossil fauna (Makaraipao) from the Castilletes Formation in northern Colombia, nowadays west of the Andes. We record the presence of lungfishes (Lepidosiren), pacus (Mylossoma and Piaractus), armoured catfishes (Callichthyidae), and red‐tail catfishes (Phractocephalus). Extant members of all those groups (except the Callichthyidae, due to lack of taxonomic resolution) are found in Amazonian faunas east of the Andes and are absent from faunas west of the Andes, indicating that the riverine systems of the Guajira Peninsula were connected to Amazonia during the middle Miocene. The similarity of La Venta (west of the Andes) and Rio Acre (east of the Andes) fish faunas during the late Miocene further indicates that the northern Andean uplift was not a complete barrier at least until c. 11 Ma. However, there is a continental‐wide structuring of the Miocene fish faunas that is also found in the extant faunas, suggesting that other factors such as ecological conditions, in addition to the uplift of the Andes, have shaped the biogeographic evolution of South American fish faunas.

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“…Lepidosirenid anatomical terminology follows Criswell (2015). Terminology of the siluriform appendicular skeleton follows Ballen & Pinna (2021).…”

Section: Systematic Palaeontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

A fossil fish assemblage from the middle Miocene of the Cocinetas Basin, northern Colombia

Ballen

Jaramillo

Dagosta

et al. 2021

Papers in Palaeontology

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“…Muscle names are here based on Miano et al (2013). More information about the standardisation of the terminology of the spines can be found in Ballen and De Pinna (2022).…”

Section: Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sounds and associated morphology of Hypostomus species from South‐East Brazil

et al. 2022

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Hypostomus is the most diverse genus within Loricariidae. These catfish species exhibit a very conservative morphology with relatively few external characteristics that differ between different species. In consequence, there is a challenge to understand the distinction of species of this genus. This study aims to describe the sounds produced by ten species of Hypostomus from Araguari River and Paraopeba River (Minas Gerais, Brazil), to examine whether acoustic features could be used to distinguish between the species, and to understand the corresponding sound production mechanisms. The fish were recorded making sounds by holding them in hand underwater, in a glass tank on the river shore next to where they had been caught. All ten species produced sounds, and no effect of body size on acoustic features was observed. Furthermore, the species could not be distinguished using acoustic features. Likewise, all the studied species exhibited similar bony ridges on the dorsal processes of the pectoral spine. Since the sounds produced by the fish do not seem to exhibit interspecific specificity, they do not appear to have a role in behaviours requiring conspecific recognition, such as reproduction. Sound production may have an alarm, distress, or acoustic aposematism function warning predators of the presence of pectoral spines, which have an anti-predatory function in this clade.

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“…With our focus on fossils, we concentrate on catfish remains that are commonly found in the fossil record, in particular articulated crania, Weberian apparatuses, and distinct cranial bones. Dorsal and pectoral fin spines, probably the most commonly reported catfish elements in the African fossil record, are excluded from this study, as they previously were reviewed in comparative studies by Gayet and Van Neer (1990) and Ballen and de Pinna (2021). There are 39 extant families of catfishes globally (van der Laan et al 2014) and an additional five extinct families (van der Laan 2018).…”

Section: Overview Of African Catfish Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Osteology of the cranium and Weberian apparatus of African catfish families (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes) with an assessment of Palaeogene genera

Holmes¹

2022

Vert. Anat. Morph. Palaeo.

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Although the vast majority of fossil catfish material is isolated elements such as fin spines, a number of fossil catfishes (Siluriformes) have been named based on articulated crania from Palaeogene formations of Africa. The fossil taxa from marine sediments have been assigned to the extant marine family Ariidae, or have been assumed to have washed into marine sediments from freshwater habitats. The ability to assess the relationships of these fossils without reference to the nature of the geological sediments may provide insight into the history of these families. Most of the taxonomic work on the 11 catfish families found in Africa has focused on soft-tissues or DNA, which is problematic for the fossil material. Here we provide osteological features to distinguish families of African catfishes; eight of the families that are likely to be found in fossiliferous deposits can be distinguished based on a combination of skull features including the morphology of the cranial fontanelle, mesethmoid, and dermal ornamentation. We reassess the familial placement of the Palaeogene catfishes. We find that †Eomacrones wilsoni, from the Palaeocene of Nigeria, belongs in Bagridae s.s. This confirms that bagrids were in Africa much earlier than the Miocene. Because this catfish comes from Palaeocene marine sediments, the biogeographic history of Bagridae needs to be reassessed to consider marine dispersal in this taxon.

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A standardized terminology of spines in the order Siluriformes (Actinopterygii: Ostariophysi)

Cited by 12 publications

References 52 publications

A fossil fish assemblage from the middle Miocene of the Cocinetas Basin, northern Colombia

A fossil fish assemblage from the middle Miocene of the Cocinetas Basin, northern Colombia

Sounds and associated morphology of Hypostomus species from South‐East Brazil

Osteology of the cranium and Weberian apparatus of African catfish families (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes) with an assessment of Palaeogene genera

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