Phylogenetic Relationships and New Classification of the Superfamily Scorpaenoidea (Actinopterygii: Perciformes)

Abstract

The phylogenetic relationships of the superfamily Scorpaenoidea are reconstructed cladistically, based on specimens belonging to 18 families, 59 genera, and 86 species, by using osteological and myological characters recognized in 111 transformation series. The following relationships are inferred: (1) the former Scorpaenoidei is paraphyletic; (2) the family Sebastidae is not monophyletic, most of the genera included having initially branched off other ingroup taxa; (3) the family Setarchidae and Trachyscorpia have a sister relationship, being nested within the paraphyletic Scorpaenidae; and (4) the family Neosebastidae is the sister group of the former Platycephaloidei. In conclusion, the Scorpaenoidea is reclassified into 20 families, accepting several redefined taxa, such as the Sebastidae, Sebastolobidae, and Scorpaenidae.