All Catfish Species Inventory: Midterm report

Sabaj, Mark H., Jonathan W. Armbruster, Carl J. Ferraris, Jr., John P. Friel, John G. Lundberg & Lawrence M. Page

Abstract of presentation given 10 March 2006 at AToL/PBI meeting hosted by Duke University National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (presentation also to be given at 2006 Joint Meetings of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)

In September 2003 the National Science Foundation Biotic Surveys and Inventories Program funded the first Planetary Biological Inventory (PBI) entitled: All Catfish Species (Siluriformes) - Phase I of an Inventory of the Otophysi.  The mission of this PBI project is to complete the classification of Siluriformes by facilitating the discovery, description and dissemination of knowledge of all species by a global consortium of taxonomists and systematists.  Components of the project include exploration and fieldwork, taxonomy and classification, systematics and evolution, digital museums and libraries, new applications of technologies (HRXCT or 3D scanning) to morphological studies, publications, education and public outreach, conservation, and a variety of collaborative work and partnerships with other NSF-funded projects.  As of 1 March 2006 ACSI has 360 participants and correspondents (including 110 students) at about 180 institutions/organizations in 48 countries; and has contributed $419,575 to participant research (44%), fieldwork (32%), and publishing (7%), and type imaging projects (17%) at a number of museums.  Nearly 1,500 primary catfish types have been imaged at over 30 museums and 4,490 catfish images are available on-line to project participants.  Highlights from ACSI's first half include the description of a new family of catfishes (Lacantuniidae) from Chiapas, Mexico, publication of a special 2005 issue of Neotropical Ichthyology (28 new species and one new genus resulting from 19 papers contributed by 30 authors), a near trans-continental expedition across Peru and Brazil (50-70 new catfishes collected by 29 participants from five countries), and submission of a molecular phylogeny (based on nuclear genes rag 1 and 2) for 35 of the 37 families of catfishes.  A summary of ACSI's midterm progress will be presented as well as a call for new projects on poorly studied catfishes.

To download files associated with presentation, click on links below. Note that powerpoint (.ppt) file has 2 embedded Quicktime (.mov) files. The .ppt and .mov files should be saved to a common folder on your computer to ensure proper display of presentation.
ATOL-PBI_Catfish.ppt (124.3 MB file will download automatically)
Quicktime of Goeldiella (after 36.9 MB mov file opens on new webpage, save to desktop and keep in common folder with .ppt file above)
Quicktime of Lacantunia (15.1 MB mov file, repeat as for above)