TAXONOMY, PHYLOGENY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF CATFISHES (OSTARIOPHYSI, SILUROIDEI) - AN OVERVIEW

An overview is given of our present knowledge on taxonomy, phylogeny a nd biogeography of catfishes or Siluroidei, one of the worlds economic ally important groups of fresh and brackish water fishes. In an introd uctory chapter, the taxonomic position of catfishes in the ichthyologi cal classification is discussed; their external morphology is briefly described and synapomorphies showing their monophyly are listed. In th e following chapter, catfish systematics are presented. Thirty three f amilies with 416 genera and 2,584 species are presently recognized, bu t these numbers are continuously changing; it is therefore obvious tha t the systematics of many taxa are still rather poorly known. For each family, data (if any) supporting their monophyly are given together w ith a short description of their external morphology. The valid genera are listed, with for each genus, the number of presently recognized s pecies with a reference (if any) to a recent revisionary study. Contri butions to the phylogenetic study of catfishes are scarce, and dealing only with a few families and with a limited number of taxa within the families. As a results only few data on catfish phylogeny are present ly known. Therefore, also our knowledge on historical biogeography of catfishes is seriously limited, until more date become available on in terfamilial and intergeneric relationships.