Phylogeny of the ocean sunfishes (molidae, tetraodontiformes), a highly derived group of teleost fishes

Abstract

A phylogenetic hypothesis based on the cladistic analysis of 48 morphological characters for the pelagic tetraodontiform ocean sunfishes of the family Molidae is proposed. Strong support is evidenced for the traditional idea that Mola and Masturus are very closely related to each other, and this clade is shown to be the sister group of Ranzania. The monophyly of the Molidae also is strongly supported, not just by characters associated with the dramatic modifications of the caudal region, but also by many additional osteological features from other parts of the body. © 2002 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.