Taxonomy of the Neotropical Thorny Catfishes (Siluriformes: Doradidae) and Revision of Genus Leptodoras
Cladistic analysis of relationships among Leptodoras and related taxa (Anduzedoras, Doras, Hassar, Hemidoras) using morphological data recovers Leptodoras praelongus (Myers & Weitzman) as the most ancestral species. The most derived clade is composed of two nominal species, Leptodoras juruensis Boulenger and Leptodoras myersi Bohlke, and one undescribed species, Leptodoras sp. 3. A sister-group relationship between Leptodoras and the monotypic Anduzedoras oxyrhynchus (Valenciennes) is supported by four unambiguous synapomorphies: predorsal distance ≤41% of standard length, first vertebra conspicuously expanded, maxillary edentulous, and average sum of midlateral scutes ≥70. This relationship and those among species of Leptodoras suggest a gradual evolution from a midwater or hyperbenthic form to a truly benthic, relatively deepwater form.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign