A revision of the recent round herrings (Pisces: Dussumieriidae)
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1963). A revision of the recent round herrings (Pisces: Dussumieriidae). Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. 10(6): 305-380
In: Bulletin of the British Museum, Natural History. Zoology. British Museum of Natural History: London. ISSN 0007-1498, more
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Abstract |
The recent round herrings, the Dussumieriidae, are here maintained as a family distinct from the Clupeidae or true herrings. Two subfamilies are recognized, the Dussumieriinae containing the genera Dussumieria and Etrumeus; and the Spratelloidinae, which is further split into the tribes Spratelloidini and Ehiravini. The former contains the genera Spratelloides and ]emkinsia, and the latter Ehirava, Gilchristella and Sauvagella. In those genera with a wide distribution (e.g. Dussumieria, Etrumeus, Spratelloides), morphometric and meristic data, from samples covering the entire geographical range, indicate that many former species are no more than geographical variants, or in some cases subspecies. Ten species are recognized, and these are described and figured. Keys are given for all taxa. The systematics and phylogeny of the Dussumieriidae are examined in the light of certain hitherto neglected characters, principally the development of abdominal and pelvic scutes, the formation of the posterior cranial fontanelles, the shape of the cleithral outline of the gill opening, the shape of the bones in the opercular series, and the number and shape of the supra-maxillary bones. It is concluded that the Dussumieriidae are modern representatives of a primitive nonscuted clupeid. |
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