Most updated species list

[Olga]

There are so many species lists around in the internet and in apisto books. Where can I find the most updated list of Apistogramma genus? Now we are trying to create an internet site about south american cichlids in Russian, since not everybody in Russia can read English. I was asked to help with description of dwarfs, so I would like to make my part as precise and updated as possible. It would be great if someone could direct me to some place in the internet or to some book (I have Romer's atlas, Kozlowski's 2002 book and Linke & Staeck 2004) with most updated species list. All your help will be very much appreciated.

 

[Mike Wise]

Olga,

I personally try to keep up with all of the species and 'forms' (= populations that are sufficiently different that they could possibly be separate species). It is based on Koslowski's books (1985 & 2002) & includes ~200 names - not including names that I believe are synonyms. The last new apisto species to be added to the list is A. sp. Sunset in November 2004. Is it accurate? I think so, but others will certainly say no. There is still a lot of controversy over how many valid described species there are. I will not even discuss what is & is not an Apistogramma species among all the different populations out there.

Genetic studies are showing that what we thought were populations of a single species are actually well separated species. Other studies show that the genus is one of the more rapidly speciating genera in South America, possibly due to recent changes in the hydrologic history of the Amazon Basin, which opened many more ecological niches & isolated populations. All of this points to a complex picture of speciation in the genus.

 

[Olga]

Thank you for anwering, Mike.

I personally try to keep up with all of the species and 'forms' (= populations that are sufficiently different that they could possibly be separate species). It is based on Koslowski's books (1985 & 2002) & includes ~200 names - not including names that I believe are synonyms.

Is it possible to get your species list? Then I can take it as a reference point so that I would not introduce mistakes from the very beginning.

The last new apisto species to be added to the list is A. sp. Sunset in November 2004.

Is it this apistogramma http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/A-sunset.html ? Or do you mean some other new species?

Genetic studies are showing that what we thought were populations of a single species are actually well separated species. Other studies show that the genus is one of the more rapidly speciating genera in South America, possibly due to recent changes in the hydrologic history of the Amazon Basin, which opened many more ecological niches & isolated populations. All of this points to a complex picture of speciation in the genus.

Where could I find references for all these studies? Since I am a professional biologist, it is very interesting for me to read that kind of scientific literature.

Thank you, Olga.

 

[Mike Wise]

Is it possible to get your species list? Then I can take it as a reference point so that I would not introduce mistakes from the very beginning.

Olga,
Please send me a private message (apistowise(at)bewellnet.com).
I need to know what you want (species list or species by groups/complexes).

Is it this apistogramma http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/A-sunset.html ? Or do you mean some other new species?

No, A. sp. Sunset/Sunset Norberti is the same as A. atahualpa. A. sp. Sunrise is a different but closely related form. See: http://www.geocities.com/mikefjacobs/pricelist.html

Where could I find references for all these studies? Since I am a professional biologist, it is very interesting for me to read that kind of scientific literature.

Much of the genetics are not published yet. Dr. Kullander has worked with an English PhD candidate who is working on genetic typing of all the apistos he can get his hands on. Very little has been let out yet, but Koslowski alludes to some of the work in his most recent book. Others in Germany & Brazil are working on parts of the genus, too, but I am not privy to their work. The one published work that might help is: Farias, I., G. Orti, I. Sampaio, H. Schneider, & A. Meyer. 2001. The cytochrome b gene as a phylogenetic marker: the limits of resolution for analyzing relationships among cichlid fishes. J. Molecular Evolution. 53: 89-103.