Phylogenetic relationships of chimaeroid fishes are investigated in detail. The six genera studied, Callorhinchus, Rhinochimaera, Harriotta, Neoharriotta, Chimaera and Hydrolagus belong to the subclass Chimaeroidei and are the only living representatives of the class Holocephali. The comparative morphology of the lateral line canals, skeleton, tooth plates, secondary sexual characteristics and musculature of all six living genera of chimaeroid fishes is described. Development of the jaws, hyoid arch and ethmoid canal is briefly described for Callorhinchus milii of the family Callorhynchidae. Using anatomical characters a phylogeny of higher level chimaeroid relationships is hypothesized. The infraorder Neochimaeroidi is erected to include Rhinochimaera, Harriotta, Neoharriotta, Chimaera and Hydrolagus on the basis of eight synapomorphies and a new classification of chimaeroid fishes is proposed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-7669 |
| Date | 01 January 1992 |
| Creators | Didier, Dominique Anne |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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