OKIYAMA: MYCTOPHIFORMES 



255 



1 



AULOPIDAE 



< w w — O t^ -• 



TTtH myctophidae 

 ttH neoscopelidae 



y 



ttttHNOTOSUDIDAE 



I nil I SCOPELARCHIDAE 



"pCHLOROPHTHALMIDAE 

 ttH IPNOPIDAE 



— 3 



TTT 



TTT 



tH synodontidae ^ 



harpadontidae 



TT 



T-i bathysauridae 



^ 



TTTTTTTnr 



paralepididae 



N 



II i iMiii I I I ANOTOPTERIDAE 



Mill 



-tH EVERMANNELLIDAE 



St 



TTTTTrr 



tHOMOSUDIDAE 

 ttH ALEPISAURIDAE 



J 



Fig. 131. Possible interrelationships among myctophiform fishes (Johnson, 1982). 



1972, 1974), Scopelarchidae (Johnson, 1974b, 1982), Notosu- 

 didae (Bertelsen et a!., 1976) and Evermannellidae (Johnson, 

 1982). At higher taxonomic levels. Okiyama (1974b, 1979b, 

 1981) considered the relationships among families with partic- 

 ular reference to the peritoneal pigment sections in association 

 with the meristic features of the axial skeleton, notably precau- 

 dal and caudal vertebrae. Larval characters of possible system- 

 atic importance among Myctophoidei in Okiyama ( 1 979b) have 

 been closely analyzed by Kendall (1982) in establishing familial 

 interrelationships on the basis of the cladistic method, although 

 several larval stages critical to this were not available at that 

 time. 



Since current knowledge reveals slightly different conclusions 

 for larval characters of potential phylogenetic importance from 



those employed in Okiyama ( 1 979b), some comments are given 

 below for a revised character catalogue with a discussion of 

 possible evolutionary direction. The determination of this di- 

 rectional change is generally based on the assumption that the 

 family Aulopidae, as presently considered, represents the prim- 

 itive character state. 



In the following discussion, the character states believed to 

 be primitive are all identified with a "0," and those believed to 

 be derived are designated by a positive integer. 



Peritoneal pigment sections {1).—The development of the dis- 

 crete peritoneal pigment sections is a remarkable feature of lar- 

 val myctophiform fishes. Nothing is known of their function, 

 but the systematic importance of this unique structure has been 



