, r-^iW^fW^r- ' "^fJt ■ 'VJti-T- 



163 



Curran included all of the genera of that tribe, except Entomocorus, near the top of 

 his tree; taxa above this node also included Trachefyopterichthys and Trachefyichthys. 

 Pseudepapterus is synonymous with Epapterus accordmg to Ferraris (1988:140). The 

 clade of genera above this node (at the point where Parauchenipterus branches off in 

 Fig. 34) were defined on the basis of having the epioccipital process contacting the 

 fifth vertebral parapophysis. This character-state is the same one used by Ferraris 

 to define the Auchenipterini. Curran united Trachefyopterichthys with Epapterus on 

 the basis of three characters that are of questionable utility: length of dorsal fin; 

 length of pelvic fin; and shape of postcleithral process. His use oi Parauchenipterus 

 includes taxa under Ferraris' Trachefyopterus (the confusing nomenclature involving 

 Trachycorystes, Parauchenipterus, and Trachefyopterus was discussed extensively by 

 Ferraris). If one disregards the topological placement of Tatia in Curran's 

 cladogram, all of the taxa above his node below the point where the Entomocorus- 

 Pseudauchenipterus clade branch off are those that make up Ferraris' 

 Auchenipterini. The characters that contribute to branching among major lineages 

 above this node primarily involve size of the gonopodium, size and degree of fusion 

 of the epioccipital process, and size of the adipose fin. The last character is 

 relatively labile, and of limited systematic value in some cases (reviewed by Vari 

 and Ortega 1986, and Ferraris 1988). The epioccipital process is of some use in 

 uniting auchenipterid taxa, but Curran's polarization of this structure into a 

 transformation series of six character states is somewhat arbitrary (although he 

 discusses this on p. 415). There are many unresolved questions about the nature of 

 the gonopodial structure in several of these taxa, as discussed elsewhere. Thus, with 

 the exception that some taxa are included in the same lineage (primarily on the 

 basis of labile characters or some of limited systematic value), Curran's analysis 

 clustered the same species that Ferraris found to be related (his Auchenipterini). 



