Re: NANFA-L-- Mud sunfish Sacramento Perch. now Elassoma (long)

Bob Bock (bockhouse-in-earthlink.net)
Wed, 8 Mar 2006 06:45:54 -0500

Thank you.

> [Original Message]
> From: Michael Sandel <kwksand-in-yahoo.com>
> To: <nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org>
> Date: 3/7/2006 5:08:51 PM
> Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- Mud sunfish Sacramento Perch. now Elassoma (long)
>
> Yup.
>
> Bob Bock <bockhouse-in-earthlink.net> wrote: Michael, would it be correct
to paraphrase what you just said as:
>
> "the jury is still out whether or not pygmy sunfish are really members of
the sunfish family." Although they are similar to sunfish in some respects,
they also bear similarities to sticklebacks and mullets. Research is
ongoing to properly classify these fishes and determine their closest
relatives."
>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Michael Sandel
> >Sent: Mar 7, 2006 10:49 AM
> >To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
> >Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- Mud sunfish Sacramento Perch. now Elassoma (long)
> >
> >Right on, Joe. This hypothesis was published in 1993, by some reknowned
ichthyologists (Johnson and Patterson). They based the relationship on
skeletal characters, primarily dealing with the vertebral column. The
SMEGMAmorpha is named for the acronym, which is made from the first letter
of each group contained within.
> >
> > S = Synbranchidae: the swamp eels, yeah, the FL invasives.
> > M = Mastacembelids: the spiny eels, common in petshops.
> > E = Elassomatidae: pygmies.
> > G = Gasterosteidae: sticklebacks, (and relatives).
> > M = Mugiliformes: mullets etc.
> > A = Atheriniformes: killifishes, silversides, flying fishes...
> >
> > The validity of this group has been contested (which might not surprise
some of you), based on other morphological characters. I have not yet seen
a molecular (DNA) phylogeny that decisively answers the question.
Interestingly, a group of systematists from Japan have left Elassoma out of
their most recent mitogenomic phylogeny. They took the entire mitochondrial
DNA sequence (>15,000 A's, T's, G's, and C's) from over 100 species, to
find out who's related to who. Well, turns out the pygmies complicate the
family tree too much, so the question is unanswered (Miya et al. 2006).
Part of my work-in-UA will look-in-Smegmamorpha, but focus on the
relationship between pygmies and sticklebacks. Dr. Johnson, who works at
the Smithsonian, appreciates the behavioral similarity of pygmy sunfish and
sticklebacks, which was recently recalled in the E. zonatum article in
American Currents (Echelle and Echelle 2005).
> >
> > For years, folks considered pygmies to be "weird" centrarchids. Few
people doubted the relationship, since both groups are endemic to North
America, and are most diverse in the southeastern US. Some thought they
were neotenic (reproductively mature in juvenile form) sunfishes. Jordan
thought they were cichlids... Now they're miniature dancing swamp mullets.
> >
> >
> > Here's a blurb from the ASIH Meeting Minutes (1997), that shows how
much fun ichthyolgists have had with pygmies.
> >
> > WHEREAS David Starr Jordan, George Boulenger, Albert Gunther, C. Tate
Regan, Thomas Eaton, Leo S. Berg, P. Humphrey Greenwood, George Myers,
Stanley Weitzman, Donn Rosen, Joe Nelson, Joe Jones, Joe Quatro, John
Bruner, Dick Robins annnnd Reeve M. Bailey all hold a heartfelt conviction
that Elassoma is a "pygmy sunfish", and
> >
> >
> > WHEREAS G. David Johnson and Victor G. Springer have clearly and
eloquently demonstrated that Elassoma is nothing more than an
ontogenetically challenged stickleback,
> >
> > THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that from this day forth, sticklebacks be
referred to as "naked giant pygmy sunfishes".
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >"Joseph S." wrote:
> > I read somewhere that pygmy sunfish were supposedly close to
> >sticklebacks and then read that they may be placed in a new order
> >Smegmaformes or something like that,
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/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
/ visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
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