Integrative taxonomy reveals a new species of the glass knifefish genus Eigenmannia Jordan & Evermann, 1896 (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes: Sternopygidae) from the Rio Branco basin, Brazil.

A new species of Eigenmannia is described from the Rio Branco basin, Roraima, Brazil, based on morphological and molecular datasets. It is distinguished from all congeners by the following combination of characters: lateral line stripe extending from first perforated lateral line scale to distal portion of caudal filament, presence of superior midlateral stripe with origin posterior to end of body cavity anal-fin hyaline, caudal filament corresponding to 15.2%-43.1% LEA, subterminal mouth, ii,14-16 pectoral-fin rays, 166-219 anal-fin rays, 10-13 scale rows above lateral line at vertical through posterior tip of pectoral fin, 100-128 scales on lateral line, 22-28 premaxillary teeth, 19-23 dentary teeth, 7-10 endopterygoid teeth, depth of posterodorsal expansion on infraorbitals 1 + 2 half as long as infraorbitals 1 + 2 length, basibranchial 1 unossified, 13 precaudal vertebrae, and length of coronomeckelian bone corresponding to 20% of Meckel's cartilage length. The new species has significant genetic divergence from species with accessible DNA sequences in public repositories, ranging from 10.8% to 17.7%. An osteological description of the new species, a review of Eigenmannia cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences available in public repositories based on voucher examination, and a hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships for the new species based on COI are provided. The critical importance of including voucher examination as one of the steps in the pipeline for using DNA sequences present in public repositories in taxonomic and phylogenetic studies is discussed.

Patterns of diversification and phylogenetic structure in the dorsolateral head musculature of Neotropical electric eels (Ostariophysi: Gymnotiformes), with a myological synonymy

The present study offers a broad comparative analysis of the dorsolateral head musculature in the Gymnotiformes, with detailed descriptions and illustrations of the dorsolateral head muscles of 83 species representing combined all valid genera. Results permit a detailed assessment of primary homologies and taxonomically-relevant variation across the order. This provides the basis for a myological synonymy, which organizes 33 previously proposed names for 15 recognized muscles. Morphological variation derived from dorsolateral head musculature was coded into 56 characters. When analyzed in isolation, that set of characters results in Gymnotidae as the sister group of remaining gymnotiforms, and all other currently recognized families as monophyletic groups. In a second analysis, myological characters were concatenated with other previously proposed characters into a phenotypic matrix. Results of that analysis reveal new myological synapomorphies for nearly all taxonomic categories within Gymnotiformes. A Partitioned Bremer Support (PBS) was used to asses the significance of comparative myology in elucidating phylogenetic relationships. PBS values show strongly non-uniform distributions on the tree, with positive scores skewed towards more inclusive taxa, and negative PBS values concentrated on less inclusive clades. Our results provide background for future studies on biomechanical constraints evolved in the early stages of gymnotiform evolution.(AU)

O presente estudo fornece uma ampla análise comparativa da musculatura dorsolateral da cabeça dos Gymnotiformes, com descrições detalhadas e ilustrações dos músculos dorsolaterais da cabeça de 83 espécies representando quase todos os gêneros válidos. Resultados permitem uma avaliação das homologias primárias e da variação taxonomicamente relevante na ordem. Isto fornece a base para uma sinonímia da nomenclatura miológica que organiza 33 nomes previamente propostos para os 15 músculos reconhecidos. As variações morfológicas da musculatura dorsolateral da cabeça foram codificadas em 56 caracteres. Este conjunto de dados foi inicialmente analisado isoladamente, resultando em Gymnotidae como grupo-irmão dos demais Gymnotiformes; e todas as famílias como grupos monofiléticos. Numa segunda análise, os caracteres musculares foram concatenados com uma matriz fenotípica previamente proposta compondo uma ampla matriz morfológica combinada. Os resultados desta análise revelaram novas sinapomorfias miológicas para todas as categorias taxonômicas em Gymnotiformes. O Suporte de Bremer Particionado (SBP) foi implementado para acessar a influência da miologia em elucidar os relacionamentos filogenéticos. Os valores de SBP exibem uma distribuição não uniforme na árvore, com indicadores positivos para agrupamentos mais inclusivos e valores negativos de SBP em clados menos inclusivos. Nossos resultados fornecem subsídios para investigações futuras sobre as restrições biomecânicas envolvidas nos estágios inicias da evolução dos Gymnotiformes.(AU)

Description of three new species of Eigenmannia (Gymnotiformes: Sternopygidae) from the rio Mearim and rio Parnaíba basins, Northeastern Brazil

Three new species of Eigenmannia belonging to the E. trilineata species-group are described. The first species is described from rio Mearim basin and can be diagnosed by lateral line stripe restricted to last two thirds of body, superior midlateral stripe present, 176-205 anal-fin rays, 10-15 scales rows above lateral line, 109-125 lateral line scales, 19-23 premaxillary teeth, 20-29 dentary teeth, 6-10 endopterygoid teeth, and 13-14 precaudal vertebrae. The second species is described from upper rio Parnaíba, and can be diagnosed by lateral line stripe restricted to last two-thirds of body, ii,11-13 pectoral-fin rays, 180-196 anal-fin rays, 12-15 scales rows above lateral line, 10-14 premaxillary teeth, 15-21 dentary teeth, 8-10 endopterygoid teeth, and 14 precaudal vertebrae. The third species is widespread in rio Parnaíba basin, and can be diagnosed by absence of lateral line stripe, absence of superior midlateral stripe, 182-228 anal-fin rays, 12-15 scales rows above lateral line, 107-131 lateral line scales, 32-34 premaxillary teeth, 35-44 dentary teeth, 9-12 endopterygoid teeth, and 13 precaudal vertebrae. A dichotomous key and the conservation status for the three species are provided.(AU)

Três espécies novas de Eigenmannia pertencentes ao grupo E. trilineata são descritas. A primeira espécie é descrita para a bacia do rio Mearim e pode ser diagnosticada por apresentar faixa da linha lateral restrita aos últimos dois terços do corpo, faixa médio lateral superior presente, 176-205 raios na nadadeira anal, 10-15 fileiras de escamas acima da linha lateral, 109-125 escamas na linha lateral, 19-23 dentes pré-maxilares, 20-29 dentes no dentário, 6-10 dentes no endopterigóide, e 13-14 vértebras pré-caudais. A segunda espécie é descrita do alto rio Parnaíba, e pode ser diagnosticada por apresentar faixa da linha lateral restrita aos últimos dois terços do corpo, ii,11-13 raios na nadadeira peitoral, 180-196 raios na nadadeira anal, 12-15 fileiras de escamas acima da linha lateral, 10-14 dentes pré-maxilares, 15-21 dentes no dentário, 8-10 dentes no endopterigóide, e 14 vértebras pré-caudais. A terceira espécie está amplamente distribuída na bacia do rio Parnaíba, e pode ser diagnosticada pela ausência de faixa na linha lateral, ausência da faixa médio lateral superior, 182-228 raios na nadadeira anal, 12-15 fileiras de escamas acima da linha lateral, 107-131 escamas na linha lateral, 32-34 dentes pré-maxilares, 35-44 dentes no dentário, 9-12 dentes no endopterigóides, e 13 vértebras pré-caudais. Uma chave dicotômica e o status de conservação para as três espécies são fornecidas.(AU)

Genomic Evidence for Convergent Molecular Adaptation in Electric Fishes.

Fishes have independently evolved electric organs (EOs) at least six times, and the electric fields are used for communication, defense, and predation. However, the genetic basis of convergent evolution of EOs remains unclear. In this study, we conducted comparative genomic analyses to detect genes showing signatures of positive selection and convergent substitutions in electric fishes from three independent lineages (Mormyroidea, Siluriformes, and Gymnotiformes). Analysis of 4,657 orthologs between electric fishes and their corresponding control groups identified consistent evidence for accelerated evolution in electric fish lineages. A total of 702 positively selected genes (PSGs) were identified in electric fishes, and many of these genes corresponded to cell membrane structure, ion channels, and transmembrane transporter activity. Comparative genomic analyses revealed that widespread convergent amino acid substitutions occurred along the electric fish lineages. The overlap of convergent genes and PSGs was identified as adaptive convergence, and a subset of genes was putatively associated with electrical and muscular activities, especially scn4aa (a voltage-gated sodium channel gene). Our results provide hints to the genetic basis for the independent evolution of EOs during millions of years of evolution.

A shocking discovery of threat risks on newly described species of weakly electric fishes.

This study aims to investigate relationships between species traits and publication date in the weakly electric osteoglossiform Mormyroidea (African knifefish and elephantfishes) and the ostariophysan Gymnotiformes (Neotropical knifefishes). It is investigated whether body size and geographic distribution area are correlated with publication date and whether extinction risk differs between both phylogenetically distant and geographically isolated clades. Statistical modelling indicates that the number of new species described annually is stable in mormyroids and clearly increasing in gymnotiforms. Best-fitting generalised linear models (GLM) indicate that the newly discovered species are more often of small-bodied, predominantly narrowly distributed and more likely to be threatened with extinction. These characteristics are more pronounced in mormyroids when compared with gymnotiforms, suggesting that some African electric fishes may live an ephemeral existence after formal description. Despite taxonomic work has been more intense in the Neotropics than in Africa in the recent decades, there is evidence that the African continent represents the next frontier of species descriptions. Taxonomic studies are fundamental for the understanding of richness and distribution and hence extinction risk assessment and conservation, of these remarkable convergent fish clades.

Three new species of the Eigenmannia trilineata species group (Gymnotiformes: Sternopygidae) from northwestern South America

Eigenmannia is one of the more taxonomically complex genera within the Gymnotiformes. Here we adopt an integrative taxonomic approach, combining osteology, COI gene sequences, and geometric morphometrics to describe three new species belonging to the E. trilineata species group from Colombian trans-Andean region. These new species increase the number of species in the E. trilineata complex to 18 and the number of species in the genus to 25. The distribution range of the E. trilineata species group is expanded to include parts of northwestern South America and southern Central America.(AU)

Eigenmannia es uno de los géneros taxonómicamente más complejos dentro de los Gymnotiformes. En este artículo adoptamos un enfoque taxonómico integrador, que combina osteología, secuencias del gene COI y morfometría geométrica, para describir tres nuevas especies que pertenecen al grupo de especies de E. trilineata de la región transandina de Colombia. Estas nuevas especies aumentan el número de especies en el complejo E. trilineata a 18 y el número de especies en el género a 25. El rango de distribución del grupo de especies de E. trilineata se ha expandido al noroeste de Sudamérica y el sur de América Central.(AU)

Molecular phylogeny of the ghost knifefishes (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae).

Ghost knifefishes (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae) are weakly electric fishes that possess a high-frequency, neurogenic electric organ discharge. They are found throughout the humid Neotropics from Panama to Argentina and are most diverse and abundant in the channels of large lowland rivers. Apteronotidae is the most species-rich family of Neotropical electric knifefishes with 96 valid species in 15 genera. We present a phylogenetic hypothesis based on molecular sequence data from three mitochondrial genes (16S, coi, cytb) and four nuclear loci (glyt, rag2, ryr3, zic1). Our analysis includes sequence data for 203 samples in 54 species and 14 genera, making it the most densely-sampled and data-rich phylogeny of the Apteronotidae to date. Our results corroborate previous phylogenetic hypotheses with the placement of Orthosternarchus + Sternarchorhamphus sister to all other apteronotids, a non-monophyletic Apterontotus, and a sister relationship between Sternarchorhynchus and the Navajini. We also report several novel relationships, particularly within the Navajini and among several species of the nominal genus Apteronotus not previously included in phylogenetic analyses. We additionally provide a new classification for the family.

Male-mediated species recognition among African weakly electric fishes.

Effective communication among sympatric species is often instrumental for behavioural isolation, where the failure to successfully discriminate between potential mates could lead to less fit hybrid offspring. Discrimination between con- and heterospecifics tends to occur more often in the sex that invests more in offspring production, i.e. females, but males may also mediate reproductive isolation. In this study, we show that among two Campylomormyrus African weakly electric fish species, males preferentially associate with conspecific females during choice tests using live fish as stimuli, i.e. when all sensory modalities potentially used for communication were present. We then conducted playback experiments to determine whether the species-specific electric organ discharge (EOD) used for electrocommunication serves as the cue for this conspecific association preference. Interestingly, only C. compressirostris males associated significantly more with the conspecific EOD waveform when playback stimuli were provided, while no such association preference was observed in C. tamandua males. Given our results, the EOD appears to serve, in part, as a male-mediated pre-zygotic isolation mechanism among sympatric species. However, the failure of C. tamandua males to discriminate between con- and heterospecific playback discharges suggests that multiple modalities may be necessary for species recognition in some African weakly electric fish species.

A new species of the Eigenmannia trilineata (Gymnotiformes: Sternopygidae) species group from the río Orinoco basin, Venezuela

A new species of the Eigenmannia trilineata species group is described from the río Orinoco basin, Venezuela. The new species is distinguished from congeners by a unique set of characters including an ossified basibranchial 1; 198-217 anal-fin rays; suborbital depth, 21.3-26.1% HL; length of anterodorsal process of maxilla equal to the width of the posterior nostril; premaxilla with 17 teeth distributed in three rows; hyaline pectoral and anal fins; and number of scale series above lateral line, 9-10. It raises the number of species allocated to the Eigenmannia trilineata species group to 13 and the number of species within the genus to 18.(AU)

Se describe una nueva especie del grupo Eigenmannia trilineata de la cuenca del río Orinoco, Venezuela. La nueva especie se distingue de sus congéneres por una combinación única de caracteres, incluyendo el basibranquial 1 osificado; número de radios de la anal, 198-217; profundidad del suborbital, 21.3-26.1% HL; longitud del proceso anterodorsal de la maxila igual al ancho de la narina posterior; 17 dientes premaxilares distribuidos en tres hileras; aletas pectoral y anal hialinas; y 9-10 hileras de escamas sobre la serie de la línea lateral. La presente contribución eleva el número de especies del grupo Eigenmannia trilineata a 13, y a 18 aquellas dentro del género.(AU)

Model-based total evidence phylogeny of Neotropical electric knifefishes (Teleostei, Gymnotiformes).

This study provides the most comprehensive Model-Based Total Evidence (MBTE) phylogenetic analyses of the clade Gymnotiformes to date, reappraising relationships using a dataset comprised of six genes (5277bp) and 223 morphological characters, and an ingroup taxon sample including 120 of 212 valid species representing 34 of the 35 extant genera. Our MBTE analyses indicate the two main gymnotiform clades are Gymnotidae and Sternopygoidei, the latter comprised of Rhamphichthyoidea (Rhamphichthyidae+Hypopomidae) and Sinusoidea (Sternopygidae+Apteronotidae). Within Gymnotidae, Electrophorus and Gymnotus are sister taxa, and Gymnotus includes the following six clades: (i) G. pantherinus clade, (ii) G. coatesi clade, (iii) G. anguillaris clade, (iv) G. tigre clade, (v) G. cylindricus clade, and (vi) G. carapo clade. Within Rhamphichthyoidea, Steatogenae (Steatogenys+Hypopygus) is a member of Rhamphichthyidae, and Hypopomidae includes the following clades: (i) Akawaio, (ii) Hypopomus, (iii) Microsternarchini, and (iv) Brachyhypopomus. Within Sternopygidae, Sternopygus and Eigenmanninae are sister groups, Rhabdolichops is the sister to other Eigenmanninae, Archolaemus+Distocyclus is the sister to Eigenmannia, and Japigny is nested within Eigenmannia. Within Apteronotidae, Sternarchorhamphinae (Sternarchorhamphus+Orthosternarchus) is the sister to Apteronotinae, Adontosternarchus is the sister group to other Apteronotinae, Sternarchorhynchini (Sternarchorhynchus+Platyurosternarchus) is the sister to Navajini, and species assigned to Apteronotus are members of two separate clades: (i) A. sensu stricto in the Apteronotini, and (ii) the "A." bonapartii clade in the Navajini.

Karyotype diversity and patterns of chromosomal evolution in Eigenmannia (Teleostei, Gymnotiformes, Sternopygidae).

Conventional (Giemsa, C-banding, Ag - NORs) and molecular [5S rDNA, 18S rDNA, (TTAGGG)n] cytogenetic techniques were employed to study six species of the genus Eigenmannia Jordan & Evermann, 1896. They exhibited diploid chromosome numbers ranging from 2n=28 (Eigenmannia sp.1) to 2n=38 (Eigenmanniavirescens (Valenciennes, 1836)). The C-banding results revealed that species with the lowest 2n have less heterochromatin content and that morphologically differentiated sex chromosomes observed in two species showed distinct patterns of heterochromatin. While the X1, X2 and Y-chromosomes of Eigenmannia sp.2 showed only centromeric heterochromatin, the XY sex chromosomes of Eigenmanniavirescens possessed large heterochromatic blocks in the terminal position, particularly on the X chromosome. The nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) were located in different positions when compared to the 5S rDNA sites. Additionally, the presence of minor ribosomal gene sites on the sex chromosome pair of Eigenmanniavirescens represented a new type of the sex chromosomes in this group. The telomeric probe (TTAGGG)n hybridized to the terminal portion of all chromosomes in all species examined however, interstitial telomeric sites were found in the metacentric pair No. 2 in Eigenmannia sp.1. The analyzes confirmed some hypotheses about karyotype evolution in the genus Eigenmannia, and brought new information about the distribution of the genetic material in the chromosomes of the samples analyzed providing new insights for understanding the process differentiation in the genomes of species under study.

The overlooked literary path to modern electrophysiology: philosophical dialogues, novels, and travel books.

The early history of neurophysiology has two important roots. The earlier of the two involves various ideas about invisible animal spirits traversing the nerves. The other, which emerged during the eighteenth century, is based on the idea that the elusive spirits are electrical-that animal electricity really does exist. The latter idea stemmed in part from what was being discovered about three types of electric fishes and their shocks prior to Galvani's broader claim in 1791 for animal electricity. This contribution focuses on how the shocks of each of these fishes had been described by three writers outside the fields of physiology and medicine: Plato, the well-known Greek philosopher, who actually provided the first good description of the powers of torpedo rays; Aphra Behn, a leading English Restoration playwright and novelist, who introduced many English speakers to the creature that would become best known as the "electric eel"; and Michel Adanson, a French botanist, who seemed to be the first to compare albeit the electric catfish's shocks to those from a known source of electricity, a Leyden jar. All three authors were famous in their day, and all played important roles in the history of biological electricity by making others aware of one of Nature's wonders, fishes that could "torpify," even without direct contact.