A Review of “Gonorynchiformes and Ostariophysan Relationships. A Comprehensive Review”

This book is announced as the first volume in a series on “Teleostean Fish Biology.” It contains 14 chapters on gonorynchiforms, cypriniforms, characiforms, siluriforms, and gymnotiforms. The content of the book is organized in two parts: the first part covering aspects of morphology, ontogeny, and phylogeny of gonorynchiforms and the second concerning other ostariophysans. As with other books of this kind, the different chapters introduce the reader to the current state of knowledge, offer new evidence and interpretations, but also point out some poorly known aspects that are in need of further research. The first five chapters deal with morphology and ontogeny of the skeleton, muscles, and the epibranchial organ of gonorynchiforms. The following two chapters deal with the fossil record and the phylogeny of gonorynchiforms. Chapter 8 deals with a fossil teleost incertae sedis without a relationship to gonorynchiforms or other ostariophysans as shown by the cladistic analysis. Chapter 9 places the gonorynchiforms within ostariophysans as the sister group of otophysans based on morphological and molecular evidences. Chapters 10 to 13 are dedicated to cypriniforms, characiforms, siluriforms, and gymnotiforms, and their presentations have little connection to the main subject of the book. The cypriniform and characiform chapters are preliminary reviews of the literature on the phylogenetic interrelationship of both groups. The siluriform chapter is a repetition in word and illustrations and mistakes in citations of a similar chapter published previously in “Catfishes” by Diogo (2003)—and published by the same publisher—with the addition of the newest published cladograms of catfishes. The chapter on gymnotiforms (South American electric fishes) includes gonorynchiforms in its phylogenetic and paleozoogeographic analyses showing at least some relation with the main theme of the book. Misspellings may not in reality be completely avoided, but one should not expect different spellings of the same taxon in the same chapter (e.g., Dyplomystes instead of Diplomystes, both spellings in chapter 13). The first two chapters provide informative comparisons— accompanied by comparative illustrations—of the cranial (including the branchial skeleton) and postcranial skeletons of extant forms and a compilation of osseous characters of gonorynchiforms. Special emphasis is given to the modifications and relationships of the first abdominal vertebrae of gonorynchiforms compared with the results of molecular genetic studies of the cyprinid Danio rerio (“zebra fish”). A discussion of fossil taxa, such as †Ramallichthys and †Charitosomus, where Gayet (1982, 1986) erroneously described a Weberian apparatus, is included. The preural centrum 1 is interpreted in the text as fused with an unknown number of ural centra in the caudal skeleton of Kneriidae. However, a separated preural centrum 1 is shown in figure 2.12A, D–E, and H–I. Nevertheless, the parhypural is correctly labeled in the same figure. The condition is correctly coded in the cladistic analysis presented in chapter 7 and so, this is just a problem with the label on the figure and not the analysis or subsequent conclusions. The third chapter brings many new data of the ossification sequences of bones of Chanos chanos to bridge the more frequently done embryologic studies and the adult morphology. The sequences are compared with those in previous studies of Chanos chanos, with the cyprinid Danio rerio and a few other teleosts revealing major differences in the beginning of ossification of bones and sequence of ossification among different studies within individuals of the same species but grown under slightly different conditions, and also among different taxa. The fourth chapter gives new data on the head and shoulder girdle musculature of gonorhynchids (over and above the descriptions by Howes, 1985) and comparisons with other ostariophysans and clupeomorphs. The often cited paper Diogo (in press) was published in 2009, previous to the publication of this book. A detailed and novel description supported by informative illustrations of the epibranchial organ (based on the unpublished thesis of the first author) and its function follows in chapter 5. Little has been known previously of the epibranchial organ in gonorynchiforms. Chapter 6 presents a detailed analysis of all known fossil gonorynchiform genera and species. They are placed in the geological time scale in six figures and combined with their most recent published phylogenies. Surprisingly, comparison between this chapter and chapter 14 shows many discrepancies in spelling and authors assigned to taxa. It appears that the spelling and the assignment of authors to taxa are mostly, but not always correct in chapter 6 and not in chapter 14. For instance, Dietze (2007) and Brito and Amaral (2008) synonymized most Dastilbe species with D. crandalli. Nevertheless, D. batai, elongatus, “minor,” and moraesi are cited as valid taxa on pages 182–184, even though the opinion of Brito and Amaral (2008) is given. The culmination of the first six chapters is given in chapter 7, with an overview of the history and an analysis of the interrelationships of the group based on morphological characters.