Fish Karyotypes (eBook)

As the largest group of extant vertebrates, fish offer an almost limitless number of striking examples of evolutionary adaptation to environmental and biotic selection pressure. The most diverse of all vertebrate groups, the higher taxa of fish traditionally have been classified by morphology and paleontology, with a much smaller input of cytogenetic information. DNA sequence data are exerting an increasingly strong influence on modern fish systematics, challenging the classification of numerous higher taxa ranging from genera to orders. The most fruitful approach, however, involves synthetic analyses of morphology, molecular phylogenetics, comparative karyology, and genome size. Karyotypes of more than 3400 species/subspecies are arranged here by fish systematics and include a list of genome size, sex chromosomes, B chromosomes, polyploidy, and locality of material fish, among others. This volume enables both beginners and advanced researchers to survey the existing literature and facilitates the implementation of an integrative approach to fish systematics. The first book on fish chromosomes in nearly 15 years, it is also the most comprehensive.

---

It is difficult and laborious not only for the beginner but also for the advanced researchers to survey literature and to appreciate former studies properly. To enable both to do this, the book is compiled. Purpose of the book covers karyotypes, which have been reported since the latest book on fish karyotypes (Klinkhardt et al. 1995), and following points are informed. 1. synonym of the species is checked based on Eschmeyer (2009, Catalog of Fishes) and a current classification of higher taxa follows Nelson (2006, Fishes of the World). 2. When the current species names differ from those in original karyotype papers, both names are listed. 3. Genome size is added. According to Gregory (http://www.genomesize.com/), genome sizes determined by different methods are differentiated. 4. As for the arm number, NF1 and NF2 are differentiated. M and SM are defined as two arm chromosomes in NF1, while M, SM, and ST are defined as two arm chromosomes in NF2. 5. Sex chromosomes, B chromosomes, and ploidy are checked. 6. The ancestral chromosome number (ACN), which is defined as diploid chromosome number of the latest common ancestor and inferred from Robertsonian transformation, is proposed. As the largest group of extant vertebrates, fishes offer an almost limitless number of striking examples of evolutionary adaptation to environmental and biotic selection pressure. The book is useful for verifying plausibility of phylogeny based on gene trees, for the study on relationships between karyotypes and biogeography, and for the study on relationships between karyotypes and biodiversity.