Taxonomic review and phylogeny of the genus Pyrrhulina (Teleostei: Characiformes: Lebiasinidae)

Abstract

The genus Pyrrhulina comprises 19 nominal species. The group, endemic of the Neotropical region, is assigned to the family Lebiasinidae, order Characiformes, and constitutes the sister group of the genus Copella. Recent studies based in the cladistic methodology, indicate that Pyrrhulina is a monophyliletic group, but the relationships among the species are still unclear, and the genus concentrates most taxonomic problems within the family Lebiasinidae. Types have been lost, destroyed or the label of the lot to which they belong has been misplaced. The goals of the present proposal consist in proposing a phylogenetic hypothesis for the species of Pyrrhulina based in morphological characters, which will be analyzed employing the cladistic methodology; conduct a taxonomic review of the species of the genus based in the species recognized in the phylogenetic study; produce an identification key to the species of Pyrrhulina. This project is continuation of the studies conducted by the candidate to the fellowship since his masters, when a phylogenetic hypothesis between the genera of Lebiasinidae was proposed, and his PhD project where the candidate conducted an comprehensive revisionary and phylogenetic study of the subfamily Lebiasininae. (AU)