THE ANABANTOID GENERA CTENOPS, LUCIOCEPHALUS, PARASPHAERICHTHYS, AND SPHAERICHTHYS (TELEOSTEI, PERCIFORMES) AS A MONOPHYLETIC GROUP - EVIDENCE FROM EGG SURFACE-STRUCTURE AND REPRODUCTIVE-BEHAVIOR

The surface structures of eggs of the anabantoid species Ctenops nobil is, Luciocephalus pulcher, Parasphaerichthys ocellatus and Sphaerichth ys osphromenoides are described for the first time after observations with scanning electron microscope. Eggs of these species share a disti nctive surface pattern which is not found in any other anabantoid spec ies or even in any other teleost. It consists of a system of almost eq uidistant ridges. They originate at the vegetal pole and run parallel towards the animal pole where they end in a counter-clockwise spiral n ear the micropyle. This peculiar pattern presents strong evidence for the monophyly of a group which consists of the genera Ctenops, Lucioce phalus, Parasphaerichthys and Sphaerichthys. In addition, the derived pear shape of the eggs of Luciocephalus and Sphaerichthys indicates th at they are more closely related to each other than either is any to C tenops. Due to the lack of information about the egg shape of spawned eggs of Parasphaerichthys the precise phylogenetic placement of that g enus within the monophyletic four-taxon-group remains open. The monoph yletic origin of that group is further corroborated by the shared mout hbreeding behaviour in Ctenops, Luciocephalus and Sphaerichthys. To da te the reproductive behaviour of Parasphaerichthys is unknown.