Anchariidae

Anchariidae
Ancharius fuscus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Superfamily:	Arioidea
Family:	Anchariidae Glaw & Vences, 1994
Genera
Ancharius Gogo

The Anchariidae are a family of catfishes containing two genera, Ancharius and Gogo^[1] with 6 species. Anchariids are a strictly freshwater group endemic to Madagascar.^[2] Anchariids are characterized by the presence of fringed barbels and a reduced anterior nuchal plate.^[2]

Traditionally, Ancharius is classified in Ariidae. The general consensus in recent years is that anchariids are members of Ariidae and do not warrant family rank.^[2] However, this family was recently revised in 2005, which reinstated the separate family for Ancharius and described the genus Gogo.^[2]

A molecular analysis grouped Anchariidae with Ariidae under the superfamily Arioidea.^[3]

References

1. Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1418: 1–628. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1.
2. Ng, Heok Hee; Sparks, John S. (2005). "Revision of the endemic Malagasy catfish family Anchariidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes), with descriptions of a new genus and three new species". Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters (PDF). 16 (4): 303–323.
3. Sullivan, JP; Lundberg JG; Hardman M (2006). "A phylogenetic analysis of the major groups of catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) using rag1 and rag2 nuclear gene sequences". Mol Phylogenet Evol. 41 (3): 636–62. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.044. PMID 16876440.