Comparative Morphology and Interspecific Relationships of the Cyprinid Genus Puntius

Interspecific relationships were investigated in 23 species of the cyprinid genus Puntius on the basis of the features of infraorbital bones ,pharyngeal bones and their teeth, lateral folds and barbels on the snout ,and color pattern.Six phyletic groups were recognized in these fishes.In general,species belonging to the same group have overlapped or about equal geographic distributions.Between Southeast Asian and Indo-Ceylonese groups a more or less distinct gap is found in the degree of development of lateral folds and barbels . The results of this study indicate that Bleeker's(1863)division of Puntius into the subgenera Puntius,Barbodes and Capoeta is not acceptable from a phylogenetic viewpoint . Introduction The genus Puntius Hamilton is the largest in number of species of all cyprinid genera in Asian tropics.Fishes of this genus occur throughout the region from Pakistan to southern China,inhabiting various types of fresh waters.The status of Puntius is obscure;the delimitation and nomenclatural validity of the genus have remained unsettled (Hora and Mukerji,1934;Smith,1945;Hoedeman,1958;Myers,1960), largely owing to the scantiness in the knowledge of its interand infrageneric relationships. The primary aim of this study is to investigate relationships among species of Puntius on morphological bases,in order to provide data necessary for the assessment of evolutionary lines within the genus.To this end, internal and external characters were examined on a total of 23 species. Materials and methods This study was based primarily on specimens collected from Southeast Asia and deposited in the Institute for Breeding Research, Tokyo University of Agriculture(abbreviation for catalogue number,IBRP). It also dealt with specimens obtained from aquarium fish suppliers in Tokyo and those raised in the laboratory.In the following list of materials,number of specimens,their range for standard length,collecting locality and catalogue number(in the case of catalogued specimen)are given in order. Southeast Asian species.P.altus(Gunther): 25;41.5-105.0 mm;Thailand,Vietnam; IBRP 3112,3218,3283,6092,6485.P. schwanenfeldi(Bleeker):17;35.0•`163.0 mm;Thailand,Vietnam,Indonesia;IBRP 3187,3197, 3282,6705.P.gonionotus (Bleeker):14;70.0-182.5 mm;Laos,Thailand,Vietnam,Indonesia;IBRP 3180,3195, 3234,3289.P.orphoides(Valenciennes): 15; 66.0-122.0 mm; Laos,Thailand,Vietnam;IBRP 3079,3182,3285,4376,6223 . P.tetrazona(Bleeker):24;23.5-47.0 mm; Indonesia;IBRP 3184,6874.P. partipentazona Fowler:24;21.0-35.5 mm;Thailand;IBRP 3068,3166,3261. P. pentazona (Boulenger): 11; 21.5-51.0 mm; Iodonesia; IBRP 3265. P. rhomboocellatus Koumans: 2; 27.5, 32.0 mm; Indonesia;IBRP 3190. P.everetti(Boulenger):18;16.0-83.0 mm; 5 of 18,Indonesia;IBRP 6726,6754;13 of 18,aquarium-rised non-catalogued specimens.P.lateristriga(Valenciennes):15; 11.0-66.0 mm;Indonesia;IBRP 6720,6768. P.fasciatus (Bleeker):18;20.0-88.5 mm; 10 of 18,Indonesia;IBRP 3266,6618;8 of 18,aquarium-raised non-catalogued specimens.P.binotatus(Valenciennes): 12; 49.0 •` 82.5 mm;Vietnam,Malaysia;IBRP 6231, 6736,6875.P.oligolepis(Bleeker):4;24.0 •`32.0 mm;1 of 4,Indonesia;IBRP 6827;3 of 4, non-catalogued specimens from an