Aphyoditeinae, Gery, 1972

Node 257: Aphyoditeinae (100 / 100 / 60 / 19)

Genera Aphyocharacidium , Aphyodite , Axelrodia , Leptobrycon ?, Microschemobrycon , Oxybrycon ?, Parecbasis , and Tyttobrycon ?

As mentioned above, this is the first published phylogenetic diagnosis of theAphyoditeinae.According to Géry (1977) both Atopomesus pachyodus Myers and Oligobrycon microstomus Eigenmann have strong teeth, which are not compressed anteroposteriorly and the former genus has seven premaxillary teeth, while the latter has only four. Both genera are considered here as incertae sedis within the Characidae . The genus Leptobrycon has numerous premaxillary teeth (14) ( Géry, 1977), and it is included tentatively in this clade pending further studies.According to Géry (1977), Oxybrycon has two rows of dentary teeth, as does the aphyoditein Aphyocharacidium . This character state is unique to these species among the characids without a supraorbital bone, being interpreted herein as a potential synapomorphy of a clade containing Aphyocharacidium and Oxybrycon . Leptobrycon and Oxybrycon have a long maxilla that reaches the posterior end of Meckelian cartilage and differ in that from the species included in the Aphyoditeinae or Cheirodontinae . This character state, however, could be a synapomorphy of these two genera. Given the available information, Leptobrycon and Oxybrycon are tentatively included in the Aphyoditeinae . The species of Tyttobrycon look like the Aphyoditeinae , with a very short maxilla not reaching the posterior end of the Meckelian cartilage (with the exception of T. xeruini Géry ) ( Géry, 1973), and they have eight or nine premaxillary teeth (excepting T. dorsimaculatus Géry , with six or seven). This genus is also included in the Aphyoditeinae at least provisionally. All the genera of Aphyoditeinae lack phylogenetic diagnoses and their monophyly was not tested, but they are herein treated provisionally as monophyletic.

Synapomorphies:

1. Dorsal margin of lateral ethmoids (16): (1> 0) aligned. Reversal of synapomorphy 1 of node 198. Paralleled in Nematobrycon palmeri .

2. Canal of lateral line on caudal-fin membrane (92): (1> 0) absent. Reversal of synapomorphy 3 of the Characidae . Paralleled in the Bryconops clade, in nodes 227, 229, 244, 287, 294, and 298, and in Aphyocharax nattereri , Bryconamericus rubropictus , B. thomasi , Charax stenopterus , Hyphessobrycon anisitsi , Inpaichthys kerri , and Phenacogaster tegatus .

3. Number of teeth in inner premaxillary row (130): (0> 1) eight or more. Paralleled in node 170, and in Brycon orbignyanus , Grundulus cochae , Phenacogaster tegatus , Prionobrama paraguayensis , and Salminus brasiliensis .

4. Size and number of anterior dentary teeth (142): (0> 1) eight or more small and slender teeth at front of dentary. Paralleled in Charax stenopterus and Pyrrhulina australis .

Some trees:

5. Number of supraneurals (280): (1> 0) four or fewer. Paralleled in in nodes 211, 223, and 262 and in Bramocharax bransfordii , Bryconaethiops macrops , Hyphessobrycon bifasciatus , and Nematocharax venustus . Some trees: Reversed in Aphyodite grammica .