Bedotiidae

Taxobox
name = Bedotiidae

---

image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Bedotia madagascariensis"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Atheriniformes
infraordo = Atherinoidei
familia = Bedotiidae
familia_authority =
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Bedotia"
"Rheocles"

Bedotiidae is a family of fish known as the Madagascar rainbowfish, Madagascan rainbowfish, or Malagasy rainbowfish due to their endemism to Madagascar. It includes two genera, "Bedotia" and "Rheocles".

Anatomy and morphology

As the common name rainbowfish implies, they are generally colorful fishes. Bedotiids are elongate, laterally compressed, and rarely exceed 100.0 mm SL. Most bedotiids exhibit varying degrees of sexual dimorphism, which is quite pronounced in some species.

The anal fin spine is weak or absent.

Distribution

The entire family of Bedotiidae is endemic to Madagascar. Bedotiids occur exclusively in freshwater environments and are distributed in small to medium-sized forested rivers and streams, occasionally in swamps and marshes, spanning nearly the entire eastern slope of Madagascar ("R. derhami" is recorded from a westward draining Sofia River basin in the northeast of the island). [cite journal|url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2005f/z01051p054f.pdf|title=A new rainbowfish (Teleostei: Melanotaenioidei: Bedotiidae) from the southeastern highlands of Madagascar, with comments on the biogeography of "Bedotia"|first=John S.|last=Sparks|coauthors=Rush, Leila M. R.|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1051|pages=39–54|year=2005|format=PDF]

Bedotiid fishes are under severe threat because of rapid deforestation and habitat modification throughout most of their range. Because "Bedotia" and "Rheocles" are generally the first to exhibit population declines or disappear from areas where habitat is moderately to highly disturbed or degraded, they are reliable indicators of ecosystem health and stability.cite journal|journal=Copeia|year=2001|issue=2|pages=482–489|title="Bedotia masoala": A New Species of Atherinoid Rainbowfish (Teleostei: Bedotiidae) from the Masoala Peninsula, Northeastern Madagascar|first=John S.|last=Sparks|doi=10.1643/0045-8511(2001)001 [0482:BMANSO] 2.0.CO;2|volume=2001]

Taxonomy

This family includes the two genera "Bedotia" and "Rheocles". There are at least 13 species. This family is monophyletic.cite journal|url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5063/1/N2979.pdf|title=Notes on the Anatomy and Relationships of the Bedotiid Fishes of Madagascar, with a Taxonomic Revision of the Genus "Rheocles" (Atherinomorpha: Bedotiidae)|first=Melanie L. J.|last=Stiassny|issue=2979|pages=1–33|date=August 7, 1990|format=PDF] cite journal|url=http://research.amnh.org/scicomp/pdfs/Sparks_Smith2004b.pdf|title=Phylogeny and biogeography of the Malagasy and Australasian rainbowfishes (Teleostei: Melanotaenioidei): Gondwanan vicariance and evolution in freshwater|first=John S.|last=Sparks|coauthors=Smith, W. Leo|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=33|year=2004|pages=719–734|format=PDF|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2004.07.002] This group is considered by Nelson, 2006 "Fishes of the World" to be a subfamily of the family Melanotaeniidae.cite book|title=Fishes of the World|last=Nelson|first=Joseph S.|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc|year=2006|isbn=0-471-25031-7|oclc=224053746] In a 2004, this family is placed in a suborder Melanotaenioidei which includes the sister groups Bedotiidae and Melanotaeniidae as well as Pseudomugilidae (including Telmatherinidae). The sister-group relationship between Bedotiidae and Melanotaeniidae is most parsimoniously explained by the break-up of Gondwana.

References