Taxonomic revision of the deep channel electric fish genus Sternarchella (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae), with descriptions of two new species

Abstract

This paper provides a taxonomic revision of the Neotropical electric fish genus Sternarchella, with redescriptions of seven valid species and descriptions of two new species. A maximum parsimony analysis of 76 morphological characters from seven ingroup and seven outgroup taxa recovered a non-monophyletic Sternarchella, in which a clade comprising two species with a ventral mouth (S. orinoco + S. sima) is the sister group to a clade comprising seven species that possess a terminal or superior mouth. Nested wit…