Relationship of the Cichla Species

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ewurm

ewurm

Aimara
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Jan 27, 2006
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Awesome article on the relationship between Cichla species, possible hybridization between species in the wild and ecological barriers. It's very technical as far as genealogy and some parts are an expert on genetics, but the remaining information is pertinent and interesting.

http://www.evoamazon.net/Legal_papers/Willis 2007.pdf
 
I know Stuart Willis pretty well, and that paper is a work of art. Anyone seriously interested in Cichla should have a copy of that paper in their file IMHO.

Thanks for the link so others can now access it, too :)
 
ZaireBlue.com;2710254; said:
I know Stuart Willis pretty well, and that paper is a work of art. Anyone seriously interested in Cichla should have a copy of that paper in their file IMHO.

Thanks for the link so others can now access it, too :)
Click to expand...

I agree, the paper is excellent if you really want to gain knowledge on Cichla in the wild.
 
Ya know, arguably Willis' paper is actually more important to the genus Cichla than Kullander's revision of the genus. Several hard-core and very knowledgeable hobbyists disagree with several aspects of Kullander's paper...especially the monoculus/kelberi relationship and the pinima breakdown......etc..... anyway, I digress :)
 
Thanks for sharing! :D
 
ZaireBlue.com;2710311; said:
Ya know, arguably Willis' paper is actually more important to the genus Cichla than Kullander's revision of the genus. Several hard-core and very knowledgeable hobbyists disagree with several aspects of Kullander's paper...especially the monoculus/kelberi relationship and the pinima breakdown......etc..... anyway, I digress :)
Click to expand...

With the information I have read it looks like future revisions of the genus are almost guaranteed. It surprises me that with the level of technology in genetics that clear cut relationships still can't be established for some species, although I am sure that natural hybridization in the wild can make things somewhat more difficult.
 
ewurm;2710399; said:
With the information I have read it looks like future revisions of the genus are almost guaranteed. It surprises me that with the level of technology in genetics that clear cut relationships still can't be established for some species, although I am sure that natural hybridization in the wild can make things somewhat more difficult.
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I mostly agree, ewurm. But, think of this. For years Kullander has "promised" this revision, and to be honest when I started keeping Cichla in 1995 his promise was already some 10 years old. So, this paper was started like 20 years ago before it was published. He said himself that the distinctions between species are mostly due to their geographic position. Even DNA is troublesome, but for different reasons. Have you ever heard of the suggestion to split the genus Cichla into two genera???
 
ZaireBlue.com;2710521; said:
I mostly agree, ewurm. But, think of this. For years Kullander has "promised" this revision, and to be honest when I started keeping Cichla in 1995 his promise was already some 10 years old. So, this paper was started like 20 years ago before it was published. He said himself that the distinctions between species are mostly due to their geographic position. Even DNA is troublesome, but for different reasons. Have you ever heard of the suggestion to split the genus Cichla into two genera???
Click to expand...

I have never heard that the Cichla genus should be split. I would think that the most logical approach to taxonomy within a group would be to consider anatomy, behavior, and genetics and sort out the variations based on those characteristics. It's a problem that is a constantly causing the revision of accepted identification of fish because even with all of the methods used, it still comes down to the opinions of a very small group who are interested in correctly classifying animals that have evolved over a period of time that the human mind has a difficult time comprehending considering our very small relative period of existence and the enormity of the task at hand. Whenever a scientific "fact" has to be based on opinion even considering the advances of technology, it will always be flawed in some way. As we continue to learn and technology advances, the information available will prove and/or disprove theories and stipulations that were made when less information was available. Until a concrete method is established to understand the relationships between individuals, we will be faced with having to revise and reform our system continuously as information becomes available.
 
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