Cathorops Jordan & Gilbert 1883
Creators: name: Marceniuk, Alexandre Pires
name: Oliveira, Claudio
name: Ferraris Jr, Carl J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Siluriformes
Ariidae
Cathorops

description: Cathorops Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
MP 100, BI 1, ML 100
(Figs 1–3, 9A – 10)
Arius hypophthalmus Steindachner, 1876.
Diagnosis
Posterior branches of mesethmoid narrow (6, 0> 1); posterior branches of mesethmoid parallel throughout their entire extension (7, 0> 1); frontal as main component of bony bridge formed by lateral ethmoid and frontal (15, 0> 2); fenestra delimited by lateral ethmoid and frontal very large (17, 1> 2); epioccipital contacting both diagonal and transversal crests associated with neural spine of fourth vertebra (44, 0> 1); accessory tooth plates small, vertically oval (60, 2> 3); otic capsules weakly differentiated (69, 0> 1); anterior margin of subvertebral process keeled (81, 0> 1); basioccipital lateral process very long (84, 0> 1); transcapular process depressed (88, 0> 1); premaxilla narrow and very long, its length two to three times in width (120, 1> 2); anteroventral portion of opercle subtrapezoidal, very short (127, 1> 2); anteroventral margin of opercle concave or almost straight (128, 0> 1); posterior margin of interopercle straight and inclined (130, 0> 1); anterior portion of interopercle compressed and bifurcate (132, 0> 1); metapterygoid anterior process rounded (138, 0> 2); ventral crest of hyomandibula absent (142, 0> 1); second external branchiostegal ray almost as wide as first ray (148, 0> 1); anterior portion of anterior ceratohyal compressed (150, 0> 1); anterior margin of urohyal not notched (154, 0> 1); posterolateral processes of urohyal short (160, 1> 0); transverse crest associated with neural spine of fourth vertebra very high (200, 0> 1); median crest associated with neural spine of fourth vertebra very high (202, 0> 1); general aspect of superficial ventral ossification of Weberian ossification regularly arched (211, 0> 1); 18 or fewer precaudal vertebrae (215, 1> 0); second dorsal cleithral process dorsally directed and parallel to first dorsal process (226, 0> 1).
Ambiguous optimization: Temporal fossa very reduced (39, 1> 0); anterior margin of otolith markedly irregular, concave (71,?> 3); anterior opening of aortic canal within base of subvertebral process and anteriorly oriented (77,?> 2); ventral tip of subvertebral process spatulate (80,?> 3).
Included species
Cathorops agassizii (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888) Cathorops aguadulce (Meek, 1904)
Cathorops arenatus (Valenciennes, 1840)
Cathorops belizensis Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 * Cathorops dasycephalus (Günther, 1864)
Cathorops festae (Boulenger, 1898)
Cathorops fuerthii (Steindachner, 1876)
Cathorops higuchii Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 Cathorops hypophthalmus (Steindachner, 1876) Cathorops kailolae Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 * Cathorops liropus (Bristol, 1897) *
Cathorops manglarensis Marceniuk, 2007
Cathorops mapale Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2005 Cathorops melanopus (Günther, 1864) *
Cathorops multiradiatus (Günther, 1864)
Cathorops nuchalis (Günther, 1864) *
Cathorops raredonae Marceniuk, Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2009 Cathorops spixii (Agassiz, 1829) *
Cathorops steindachneri (Gilbert & Starks, 1904)
Cathorops taylori (Hildebrand, 1925)
Cathorops tuyra (Meek & Hildebrand, 1923)
Cathorops wayuu Betancur-R., Acero P. & Marceniuk, 2012.
Habitat and distribution: Fresh and brackish waters, eastern and western Central and South America (Fig. 9).
Remarks
The monophyly Cathorops has been shown to be well supported in previous studies (Betancur-R. et al. 2007, Marceniuk and Menezes 2007, Betancur-R. 2009, Marceniuk et al. 2012), but there is no consensus regarding their relationships in previous morphological and molecular studies (Betancur-R. et al. 2007, Betancur-R. 2009, Marceniuk et al. 2012). Results of the total-evidence analysis corroborates the monophyly of Cathorops and its sister group relationship with Notarius (including Aspistor), as postulated in previous molecular studies.
Within Cathorops, species share a suite of molecular and morphological characters not found in the species of Cathorops dasycephalus. The total-evidence hypothesis presented above places Cathorops dasycephalus as the sister group to all remaining Cathorops, and was assigned to a separate subgenus Cathorops (Precathorops) Betancur-R. & Acero P. (2007). Morphological character states shared by the remaining species, in Cathorops (Cathorops), are as follows: fenestra delimited by mesethmoid and lateral ethmoid present (3, 0> 1); fenestra delimited by mesethmoid and lateral ethmoid small, not filled with cartilage (4,?> 0); mesethmoid posterior horn tubular, narrow and elongate (5, 0> 1); posterior branches of mesethmoid very long, delimiting one-half of length of anterior cranial fontanel (8, 0> 2); posterior cranial fontanel reduced to a small opening (27, 1> 0); extrascapular delimiting more than three-fifths of temporal fossa (40, 0> 1); tooth plates associated with vomer absent (55, 1> 0); accessory tooth plates molariform (61, 0> 1); ventral process at symphysis of dentary long and very conspicuous (115, 1> 2); teeth acicular and molariform on dentary (117, 0> 1); metapterygoid one and a one-half times longer than deep in perpendicular section (135, 1> 2); first hypobranchial very elongate transversely, its mesial face well developed and acute 172 (0> 1); anterior process of first hypobranchial inconspicuous (173, 0> 1); second hypobranchial very elongate transversely, its mesial face acute (176, 0> 1); space for insertion of teeth on fifth ceratobranchial very small (194, 1> 2); cardinal veins at same level of aortic canal (210, 0> 1); posterior process of cleithrum very short (224, 1> 0); cleithrum lateral face very narrow (227, 0> 1).
Ambiguous optimization: Posterior cranial fontanel formed exclusively frontals (25, 0> 1).
description: Published as part of Marceniuk, Alexandre Pires, Oliveira, Claudio & Ferraris Jr, Carl J., 2024, A new classification of the family Ariidae (Osteichthyes: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes) based on combined analyses of morphological and molecular data, pp. 426-476 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 200 (2) on pages 437-439, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad078, http://zenodo.org/record/11240120