Mormyridae Bonaparte 1831
Creators: name: Hilton, Eric J.
name: Lavoué, Sébastien
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Osteoglossiformes
Mormyridae

description: <b>Mormyridae</b>. By far Mormyridae is the largest family of Osteoglossomorpha. It has about 21 genera and well over 200 species (Fricke <i>et al.,</i> 2018); the rate of new species descriptions in recent years suggests that there are far more to be discovered (<i>e.g</i>., a new genus, <i>Cryptomyrus</i>, was described recently from Gabon, suggesting that there are significant gaps in our knowledge of mormyrid diversity; Sullivan <i>et al.</i>, 2016). All members of the family are found throughout Africa (except the Saharan, northern Maghreb, and southern Cape regions), and are particularly diverse in Central and West Africa (Stiassny <i>et al.</i>, 2007). The earliest fossil remains of the family, comprising fragmentary skull bones, teeth, and isolated vertebrae, are Middle Pliocene (Greenwood, 1972), although the family is very poorly represented in the fossil record. Hilton (2003) noted the irony of this, as this family is the most species rich in the extant fauna, but most other families have a much more temporally and taxonomically extensive fossil record. The diversity of the family, established in part by fast evolution of reproductive isolation caused by selection in mate recognition signals (<i>i.e</i>., electric organ discharges), is pronounced and the family has been cited as the only example of a freshwater species flock in a riverine (<i>vs</i>. lacustrine) system (Sullivan <i>et al.</i>, 2002). All members of the family are weakly electric fishes, having both electroreceptors, and producing speciesspecific electric organ discharges for communication and localization purposes. There is great morphological diversity within this family in body form, but especially of their head shape, which ranges from blunt and rounded (<i>e.g</i>., <i>Petrocephalus</i>, Fig. 6a; <i>Pollimyrus</i>), to elongate, with a long snout and jaws (<i>e.g</i>., <i>Gnathonemus</i> and <i>Campylomormyrus</i>; Figs. 6b,c). The cranial diversity of certain taxa within the family, such as <i>Campylomormyrus</i>, has been suggested to reflect adaptive radiation driven by variation in diet (Feulner <i>et al.</i>, 2007). Mormyridae (inclusive of Gymnarchidae; see below) all share an enlarged cerebellum, electric organs, electroreceptors, opercular bones covered by a thick fleshy flap, an intracranial diverticulum of the swim bladder, loss of the ventral hypohyal, absence of the basihyal and its toothplate, and features of the caudal skeleton (Boulenger, 1898; Taverne, 1972, 1979; Hilton, 2003). The systematics of Mormyridae has not been investigated recently from a morphological perspective (see Future Research Needs, below). The most taxonomically rich data set to be analyzed to date is that of Sullivan <i>et al.</i> (2000), who investigated relationships among representatives of 18 genera and 41 species using mitochondrial (12S and 16S rRNAs, Cytochrome <i>b</i>) and nuclear (RAG2) loci. The results of this analysis are largely congruent with those of Taverne (1972) at the higher taxonomical-levels, in that Gymnarchidae is its sister group, and the family can be divided into the Petrocephalinae (with only <i>Petrocephalus</i>) and Mormyrinae (all other genera). Within Mormyrinae, <i>Myomyrus macrops</i>, and <i>Mormyrops</i> spp. were recovered as successive sister groups to all other members of the subfamily. Notable results also included the non-monophyly of <i>Brienomyrus</i>, <i>Pollimyrus</i>, <i>Marcusenius</i>, and <i>Hippopotamyrus</i>. Based on this topology, the authors conclude that electrocytes with penetrating stalks is a derived conditions but they evolved early in the evolution of Mormyrinae; the electrocytes of <i>Gymnarchus</i> are stalkless (hypothesized to be the larval form of electrocytes found in Mormyridae) and those of <i>Petrocephalus</i> have non-penetrating stalks. There are several occurrences, presumably homoplastic, of reversal to the non-penetrating condition (<i>e.g.,</i> within <i>Brienomyrus</i>, <i>Paramormyrops</i>, <i>Marcusenius</i>, and <i>Campylomormyrus</i>), although the taxon sampling in these genera was insufficient to draw firm conclusions of the number of reversals within Mormyrinae. Other previous phylogenetic studies, reviewed by Sullivan <i>et al.</i> (2000), include Agnèse, Bigorne (1992), Van der Bank, Kramer (1996), Alves-Gomes, Hopkins (1997), Alves-Gomes (1999), and Lavoué <i>et al.</i> (2000). Recent molecular phylogenetic studies of relationships of Mormyrinae include those of Sullivan <i>et al.</i> (2016) and Levin, Golubtsov (2018), and provide further evidence that the taxonomy and phylogeny of Mormyridae is far from settled.
description: Published as part of <i>Hilton, Eric J. &amp; Lavoué, Sébastien, 2018, A review of the systematic biology of fossil and living bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei), pp. 1-35 in Neotropical Ichthyology 16 (3)</i> on pages 5-6, DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-20180031, http://zenodo.org/record/3709903
description: {"references": ["Fricke R, Eschmeyer WN, Fong JD. Species by family / subfamily in the Catalog of Fishes. [Eletronic version]. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences; 2018. [cited 2018 Feb 12]. Available from: http: // researcharchive. calacademy. org / research / ichthyology / catalog / SpeciesByFamily. asp", "Sullivan JP, Lavoue S, Hopkins CD. Cryptomyrus: a new genus of Mormyridae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) with two new species from Gabon, West-Central Africa. Zookeys [serial on the Internet]. 2016; 561: 117 - 50. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 561.7137", "Stiassny MLJ, Teugels GG, Hopkins CD, editors. Poissons d'eaux douces et saumatres de basse Guinee, ouest de l'Afrique centrale. Vol. 2.. Paris: IRD, Publication Scientifique du Museum, MRAC; 2007. (Faune et Flore Tropicales, 42).", "Greenwood PH. New fish fossils from Pliocene of Wadi Natrun Egypt. J Zool [serial on the Internet]. 1972; 168 (4): 503 - 19. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7998.1972. tb 01364. x", "Hilton EJ. Comparative osteology and phylogenetic systematics of fossil and living bony-tongue fishes (Actinopterygii, Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha). Zool J Linn Soc [serial on the Internet]. 2003; 137 (1): 1 - 100. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1046 / j. 1096 - 3642.2003.00032. x", "Sullivan JP, Lavoue S, Hopkins CD. Discovery and phylogenetic analysis of a riverine species flock of African electric fishes (Mormyridae: Teleostei). Evolution [serial on the Internet]. 2002; 56 (3): 597 - 616. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 0014 - 3820.2002. tb 01370. x", "Feulner PGD, Kirschbaum F, Mamonekene V, Ketmaier V, Tiedemann R. Adaptive radiation in African weakly electric fish (Teleostei: Mormyridae: Campylomormyrus): a combined molecular and morphological approach. J Evol Biol [serial on the Internet]. 2007; 20 (1): 403 - 14. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1420 - 9101.2006.01181. x", "Boulenger GA. A revision of the genera and species of fishes of the family Mormyridae. Proc Zool Soc Lond; 1898; 66 (4): 775 - 821.", "Taverne L. Osteologie des genres Mormyrus Linne, Mormyrops Muller, Hyperopisus Gill, Myomyrus Boulenger, Stomatorhinus Boulenger et Gymnarchus Cuvier. Considerations generales sur la systematique des Poissons de l'ordre des Mormyriformes. Ann Musee Roy Afr Centr Sci Zool. 1972; 200: 1 - 194.", "Taverne L. Osteologie, phylogenese et systematique des teleosteens fossiles et actuels du super ordre des Osteoglossomorphes. Troisieme partie. Evolution des structures osteologiques et conclusions generales relatives a la phylogenese et a la systematique du super ordre. Acad Roy Belg Mem Cl Sci. 1979; 43 (3): 1 - 168. (Collection 8, Serie 2)", "Sullivan JP, Lavoue S, Hopkins CD. Molecular systematics of the African electric fishes (Mormyroidea: Teleostei) and a model for the evolution of their electric organs. J Exp Biol. 2000; 203 (4): 665 - 83.", "Agnese JF, Bigorne R. Premieres donnees sur les relations genetiques entre onze especes ouest-africaines de Mormyridae (Teleostei, Osteichthyes). Rev Hydrobiol Trop. 1992; 25 (3): 253 - 61.", "Van der Bank FH, Kramer B. Phylogenetic relationships between eight African species of mormyriform fish (Teleostei, Osteichthyes): resolution of a cryptic species and reinstatement of Cyphomyrus Myers, 1960. Biochem Syst Ecol [serial on the Internet]. 1996; 24 (4): 275 - 90. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / 0305 - 1978 (96) 00026 - 9", "Alves-Gomes JA, Hopkins CD. Molecular insights into the phylogeny of mormyriform fishes and the evolution of their electric organ. Brain Behav Evol. 1997; 49 (6): 324 - 29.", "Alves-Gomes JA. Systematic biology of gymnotiform and mormyriform electric fishes: phylogenetic relationships, molecular clocks and rates of evolution in the mitochondrial rRNA genes. J Exp Biol. 1999; 202 (10): 1167 - 83.", "Lavoue S, Bigorne R, Lecointre G, Agnese JF. Phylogenetic relationships of mormyrid electric fishes (Mormyridae, Teleostei) inferred from cytochrome b sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol [serial on the Internet]. 2000; 14 (1): 1 - 10. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1006 / mpev. 1999.0687", "Levin BA, Golubtsov AS. New insights into the molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of mormyrids (Osteoglossiformes, Actinopterygii) in northern East Africa. J Zool Syst Evol Res [serial on the Internet]. 2018. 56 (1): 61 - 76. Available from: https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / jzs. 12186"]}