Taxonomic assessment of body scales of Cichlidae (Teleostei)

热带淡水慈鲷科以其高度的物种多样性而闻名，估计有超过2，200种，许多营养适应和专门的行为。正如以前的工作所证明的那样，对慈鲷化石的详细调查可以大大提高我们对这组成功鱼类进化的理解。该项目的总体目标是提供一个额外的工具，根据现存慈鲷物种的身体鳞片（侧鳞和背鳞）的分类价值的评估进行分类的化石慈鲷。在前期工作中，从慕尼黑国家动物标本馆保存的87个鱼类标本馆的乙醇固定物种中获得了总共2,538个体鳞（每个物种6个背鳞和12个侧鳞，总共141个标本）。由于该项目的重点是亚科Pseudocrenilabrinae（“非洲慈鲷”），大多数选定的物种属于这个亚科，并代表其所有27个部落。另外三个亚科的一些成员也包括在内。所有的身体鳞片提取后，从不同的身体区域的标准化协议，只使用成鱼标本。拟议项目设想的工作方案包括：（i）对所有2，538个体鳞进行摄影记录;（ii）编写鳞表面分布的详细说明，并辅以测量鳞的长度和宽度（相对于取样标本的标准长度和体长）以及分布区域;（iii）编制“慈鲷科体鳞地图集”。这样的资源将是非常宝贵的化石慈鲷科来自非洲的未来分类分析，也将是一个有用的工具，为现存的慈鲷科的研究，例如，通过提供一个来源的比较数据的新物种的分类。

The tropical freshwater family Cichlidae is famous for its high species diversity, with an estimated number of more than 2,200 species, numerous trophic adaptations and specialized behaviors. As exemplified by previous work, detailed investigations of cichlid fossils can greatly enhance our understanding of how this successful group of fishes evolved. The overall aim of this project is to provide an additional tool for the classification of fossil cichlids based on an assessment of the taxonomic value of body scales (flank and dorsal scales) from extant cichlid species. In the course of the preliminary work, a total of 2,538 body scales derived from 87 ethanol-fixed species of the Ichthyological Collection kept at the Zoological State Collection Munich is available (6 dorsal and 12 flank scales per species, from 141 specimens in all). As the project focuses on the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae ('African cichlids'), most of the species selected belong to this subfamily and represent all of its 27 tribes. Some members of the other three cichlid subfamilies (Etroplinae, Ptychochrominae, Cichlinae) were also included. All body scales were extracted following a standardized protocol from distinct body regions; only adult fish specimens were used. The work program envisaged for the proposed project includes (i) photographic documentation of all 2,538 body scales, (ii) preparation of detailed descriptions of scale surface ornamentation, supplemented by measurements of scale length and width (in relation to standard and body lengths of the sampled specimen) and areas of ornamentation, and (iii) the compilation of a 'Cichlidae body-scale atlas'. Such a resource would be very valuable for future taxonomic analyses of fossil Cichlidae from Africa, and would also be a useful tool for studies of extant Cichlidae, e.g. by providing a source of comparative data for the classification of new species.