Encephalization in Gobioidei (Teleostei)

Abstract

We have measured the brain and body weight and determined the encephalization index for 180 species of fishes belonging to six families of the suborder Gobioidei. Within the Teleostei, these fishes exhibit a remarkably broad range in the values of their encephalization indices, but most values are in the low to middle range. Within the Gobioidei there is relatively little difference in the degree of encephalization among the different families and subfamilies except the Kraemeriidae and Amblyopinae which have low encephalization indices and the Oxudercinae (including Periophthalmus) and Rhyacichthyidae which are highly encephalized. We have shown that the form of the body has an effect on the degree of encephalization. Elongate fishes have low values, probably because of the excessive mass of their body skeleton which raises the body weight relative to the brain size. The environment in which the fishes live is correlated, in general, with their relative brain size. The values of the encephalization index arranged from low to high by habitat are as follows: mud-dwelling fishes, fresh-water fishes, brackish-water fishes, burrowing marine fishes, free-living marine fishes, torrent fishes and amphibious fishes. The low values of the Amblyopinae and Kraemeriidae can be explained in terms of their being both mud-dwelling and elongate.