Phylogeny of the suborder Scorpaenoidei (Pisces: Scorpaeniformes)

Fifty-five genera of the suborder Scorpaenoidei were examined in order to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships. Ninety-five characters were selected following both myological and osteological examinations of the whole body as follows: muscles of the cheek, ventral surface of the head, serving the branchial arches, between the pectoral girdle, neurocranium, hyoid arch, and branchial arches, serving the pectoral fin, pelvic fin, dorsal and anal fins, and caudal fin, carinal muscles, body muscles, and swimbladder and associated muscles; neurocranium, nasal and circumorbital bones, jaws, suspensorium, hyoid arch, branchial arches, vertebrae and associated bones, caudal skeleton, pectoral girdle, pelvic girdle, and dorsal and anal fin supports. Character polarities were primarily determined by comparisons with generalized percoids as an out-group, secondarily as unquestionably specialized conditions, or by comparisons with sebastids and scorpaenids as a functional out-group. Cladistic analyses based on the minimum number of evolutionary steps, without character reversals were performed. The Scorpaenoidei was considered a natural group, because the other members of the Scorpaeniformes, including Hexagrammidae, Anoplopomatidae, Platycephaloidei, Triglidae, Peristediidae, and Cottoidei, have been shown to be derived from non-scorpaenoid ancestors. The relationships between the genera included in Scorpaenoidei were shown, the 11 major stems corresponding to familial categories. The relationships of the families were expressed as follows, using a sequencing convention: the Sebastidae, the Setarchidae plus Neosebastidae, the Scorpaenidae, the Apistidae plus Tetrarogidae, the Synanceiidae plus Congiopodidae, the Gnathanacanthidae, the Aploactinidae, and the Pataecidae. The following classification for Scorpaenoidei is proposed (only genera examined during this study are included): Sebastidae, including Sebastes, Sebastiscus, Hozukius, Helicolenus, Adelosebastes, Sebastolobus. Trachyscorpia, and Plectrogenium; Setarchidae, including Setarches, Lioscorpius, and Ectreposebastes; Neosebastidae, including Neosebastes and Maxillicosta; Scorpaenidae, including Pontinus, Neomerinthe, Phenacoscorpius, Parascorpaena, Scorpaena, Iracundus, Scorpaenopsis, Scorpaenodes, Hoplosebastes, Pterois, Ebosia, Brachypterois, Dendrochirus, Parapterois, Rhinopias, and Taenianotus; Apistidae, including Apistus; Tetrarogidae, including Gymnapistes, Centropogon, Notesthes, Neocentropogon, Ocosia, Paracentropogon, Hypodytes, Liocranium, Ablabys, and Richardsonichthys; Synanceiidae, including Inimicus, Synanceia, Erosa, Choridactylus, and Minous; Congiopodidae, including Congiopodus, Alertichthys, and Zanclorhynchus; Gnathanacanthidae, including Gnathanacanthus; Aploactinidae, including Aploactis, Erisphex, and Sthenopus; Pataecidae, including Aetapcus, Pataecus, and Neopataecus