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Email the author (Login required) Taxonomic update and illustrated key of Zeiformes from Chile (Pisces: Actinopterigii)
Submited: 2015-12-29 11:25:09 | Published: 2017-03-08 13:23:37
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3856/vol45-issue1-fulltext-9
Abstract
The Chilean fishes of the order Zeiformes are rare in museum collections, the lack of scientific expeditions to the submarine ridge and the scarcity of new specimens records in Chilean shelves, as well as the lack of biological studies, probably accounts for its apparent rarity. In the last two decades, fishes of the order Zeiformes in Chile have undergone major changes in their taxonomic categories and in the record of new species. In Chile, there are five families, 7 genera and 11 species. They live in benthic and bathypelagic realms and are distributed at depths of 30 to 1500 m. Also, the literature of these species, is scattered, hindering their taxonomic and systematic knowledge, which makes difficult their study and better understanding as a group. It also prevents progress in such important aspects like their phylogenetic relationships, the state of vulnerability of their populations and other biological aspects. In order to contribute to the knowledge and its identification, a bibliographical compilation and a tentative illustrated identification key that unifies all the existing information in a single document, is presented. This may constitute a new tool to contribute to the growing interest in biodiversity studies in the south eastern Pacific Ocean.
