Bedotia is a genus of the family Bedotiidae of fishes endemic to Madagascar.

Bedotia
Bedotia sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Atheriniformes
Family: Melanotaeniidae
Subfamily: Bedotiinae
Genus: Bedotia
Regan, 1903
Type species
Bedotia madagascariensis
Regan, 1903

Taxonomy

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This genus is monophyletic.[1] Little is known regarding phylogenetic interrelationships of the numerous populations of Bedotia of eastern Madagascar, and the genus is in need of systematic revision. One author synonymized B. longianalis and B. tricolor with B. geayi with no justification. It is apparent that several species of Bedotia exist, although many of these are new to science and await description, whereas the taxonomic status of many nominal species remains uncertain.[2]

A 2004 study supported three major, more or less geographically distinct, clades of Bedotia, one comprising species with distributions ranging from mid- to southeastern Madagascar (B. madagascariensis, B. geayi, and B. tricolor, plus four undescribed species), another including species restricted to eastern drainages north of the Masoala Peninsula (B. marojejy, plus four undescribed species), and a third comprising species with distributions extending from the Masoala Peninsula southward to the Ivoloina River (B. longianalis and B. masoala, plus three undescribed species).[3] These three clades of Bedotia are not readily separated based on coloration or pigmentation pattern.

Species

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There are currently nine recognized species in this genus:[4]

Additionally, several undescribed species have been rated by the IUCN:[7]

Description

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Bedotia species are all under 10 centimetres (4 in) SL, extremely colorful, elongate, and somewhat laterally compressed atherinid fishes that exhibit varying degrees of sexual dimorphism.[2] Except for coloration and pigmentation, Bedotia are morphologically conservative fishes.[3] All Bedotia are sexually dimorphic, with males exhibiting larger adult size, enhanced coloration and pigmentation, as well as pronounced development of the unpaired fins.[3]

Ecology

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Bedotia is exclusively freshwater, and members are found in small to medium-sized forested rivers and streams, and to a lesser degree in swamps and marshes, along the eastern slope of Madagascar.[2]

Etymology

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The genus is named after the Swiss zoologist Maurice Bedot (1859-1927) who was director of the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Genève where the type of B. madagascarensis was lodged and who was editor of Revue Suisse de Zoologie in which Regan's description was published in 1903.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Stiassny, Melanie L. J. (1990). "Notes on the Anatomy and Relationships of the Bedotiid Fishes of Madagascar, with a Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Rheocles (Atherinomorpha: Bedotiidae)". American Museum Novitates (2979): 1–33. hdl:2246/5063.
  2. ^ a b c d Sparks, John S.; Schaefer, S. A. (2001). Schaefer, S. A. (ed.). "Bedotia masoala: A New Species of Atherinoid Rainbowfish (Teleostei: Bedotiidae) from the Masoala Peninsula, Northeastern Madagascar". Copeia. 2001 (2): 482–489. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2001)001[0482:BMANSO]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86218849.
  3. ^ a b c Sparks, John S.; Smith, W. Leo (2004). "Phylogeny and biogeography of the Malagasy and Australasian rainbowfishes (Teleostei: Melanotaenioidei): Gondwanan vicariance and evolution in freshwater" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 33 (3): 719–734. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.07.002. PMID 15522799.
  4. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Bedotia". FishBase. June 2012 version.
  5. ^ Jones, Christopher C.; W. Leo Smith; John S. Sparks (2010). "A New Species of Rainbowfish (Teleostei: Melanotaenioidei: Bedotiidae) from the Makira Region of Northeastern Madagascar". Copeia. 2010 (2): 284–291. doi:10.1643/CI-09-187. S2CID 86827032.
  6. ^ Loiselle, Paul V.; Rodriguez, Damaris (2007). "A new species of Bedotia (Teleostei: Atherinomorpha: Bedotiidae) from the Rianila drainage of Eastern Madagascar, with redescriptions of Bedotia madagascariensis and Bedotia geayi" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1520: 1–18. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1520.1.1.
  7. ^ Loiselle, P.; participants of the CBSG/ANGAP CAMP "Faune de Madagascar", Mantasoa, Madagascar 2001 (August 2004). "Red list assessment of madagascar's freshwater fishes" (PDF). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  8. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (14 March 2019). "Order ATHERINIFORMES: Families BEDOTIIDAE, MELANOTAENIIDAE, PSEUDOMUGILIDAE, TELMATHERINIDAE, ISONIDAE, DENTATHERINIDAE and PHALLOSTETHIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 30 June 2019.