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Phylogeny, Evolution and Taxonomy of sparids with some notes on their Ecology and Biology

TitlePhylogeny, Evolution and Taxonomy of sparids with some notes on their Ecology and Biology
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2011
AuthorsHanel, R, Tsigenopoulos CS
EditorPavlidis, M, Mylonas CC
Book TitleSea bream: Biology & Aquaculture of Sparidae
Chapter2
Pages51-74
PublisherWiley-Blackwell
ISBN Number978-1-4051-9772-4
Keywordsbiogeography; Centracanthidaeā€“Sparidae monophyly; evolution; ecological characteristics; systematics
Abstract

The Sparidae is a moderately sized but morphologically and ecologically highly diverse family of percoid fishes. Monophyly of seabreams and porgies is shown to be supported only after inclusion of the picarels (Centracanthidae), a species-poor family of planktivorous fishes basically confined to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the South African Cape region. Recent phylogenetic analyses clearly indicate that the current sparid taxonomy, largely based on tropho-morphological characters, does not reflect the evolutionary history of the group. Nevertheless, despite convincing evidence for the non-monophyly of the presently described sub-familiar and generic classification, a major revision including a reexamination of morphological characters is still lacking. A compilation of the available knowledge on the biology and ecology of porgies and seabreams reveals major gaps for the majority of the species, which regarding the ecological importance of the group is not only a scientific challenge.