recent and impending perturbations of the neotropical environment, there is an 

 urgent need for faunal and revisionary studies of many taxa in order to permanently 

 document their status and to provide a basis for future research of this rich 

 biological resource. Gosline (1942) emphasized the need for a revision of the 

 Ageneiosidae, as well as a number of other neotropical catfishes. 



The opinion expressed by Bohlke et al. (1978) is adopted here; alpha-level 

 taxonomic studies are badly needed to provide a better foundation for more in- 

 depth research of the evolutionary history and ecology of the ichthyofauna, A 

 number of recent studies of neotropical catfishes have resulted in revisions of 

 existing classifications, and, in some cases, the authors proposed significant changes 

 based on hypothesized phylogenetic relationships. However, not all of these studies 

 included critical examinations of all of the taxa in a genus or higher category, and 

 thus were of little help in resolving alpha-level taxonomic problems. Given the 

 diversity of species involved and an overall poor understanding of their systematics 

 and morphology, it is my opinion that attempts to propose higher-level phylogenies 

 for some groups may be premature at present. The possible misrepresentations 

 inherent in such studies are confounded by cases where genera are currently 

 considered monotypic, species are known from very few specimens, and large 

 numbers of species remain undescribed, or even undiscovered. 



A revision of the Ageneiosidae is timely, given the previously confused 

 taxonomy of the family, and the drastic recent effects of human alterations of South 

 American river systems. It is anticipated that results of this study will allow 

 biologists to correctly identify ageneiosid species, thus perhaps improving prospects 

 for their management and conservation. In addition, it is hoped that these results 

 will enhance our general understanding of systematic relationships of neotropical 

 catfishes. , 



