Massive Taxonomic Shake-up Sees Seahorses and Tuna As Related
JEREMY GAY
5 DAYS AGO
The minute you first set up an aquarium, or buy your first fish, like it or not, you will be involved in fish taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science of putting living things in order, and in aquarium fish and invertebrates, it manifests itself as the families, genera, and species we see listed in books and on availability lists.
Flame angels and Coral beauties are both members of the genus Centropyge, and Homophyllia and Micromussa are both members of the family Lobophyllidae. For 300 years now scientists have been putting animals in order based on one internationally accepted system, but until twenty years ago that system was based on classifying animals by comparing visible, notifiable traits using meristics. It’s all they had, and this placed new species into genera, families, orders, classes, and phyla – all branches of one big fish tree of life.
To see the entire original article as well as a link to a biologist with a comedic way of explaining the 800-page paper, please go to:
Massive Taxonomic Shake-up Sees Tuna and Seahorses As Related | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
The minute you first set up an aquarium, or buy your first fish, like it or not, you will be involved in fish taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science of putting living things in order, and in aquarium fish…
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