''Bedotia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Bedotiidae Bedotiidae are a family of fish in the order Atheriniformes. They are closely related to the Australian rainbowfish family Melanotaeniidae, and were formerly placed in it as a subfamily, but are now considered a distinct family. They are commonl ...

of fishes

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Taxonomy

This genus is

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. Little is known regarding

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

interrelationships of the numerous populations of ''Bedotia'' of eastern Madagascar, and the genus is in need of systematic revision. One author synonymized ''B. longianalis'' and ''B. tricolor'' with ''B. geayi'' with no justification. It is apparent that several species of ''Bedotia'' exist, although many of these are new to science and await

description Description is any type of communication that aims to make vivid a place, object, person, group, or other physical entity. It is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

, whereas the taxonomic status of many nominal species remains uncertain. A 2004 study supported three major, more or less geographically distinct,

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s of ''Bedotia'', one comprising species with distributions ranging from mid- to southeastern Madagascar (''B. madagascariensis'', ''B. geayi'', and ''B. tricolor'', plus four

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

), another including species restricted to eastern drainages north of the

Masoala Peninsula Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and ...

(''B. marojejy'', plus four undescribed species), and a third comprising species with distributions extending from the Masoala Peninsula southward to the Ivoloina River (''B. longianalis'' and ''B. masoala'', plus three undescribed species). These three clades of ''Bedotia'' are not readily separated based on coloration or pigmentation pattern.

Species

There are currently nine recognized species in this genus: * ''

Bedotia albomarginata ''Bedotia albomarginata'' is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish from the Mananara and Reinana river basins in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss. This species was described by John Sparks and Leila Rush in 2005 from types collected ...

'' Sparks & Rush, 2005 * ''

Bedotia alveyi ''Bedotia alveyi'', the Makira rainbowfish, is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish from rivers and streams in the Makira region of Madagascar where it occurs in the tributaries of the Antainambalana and Vohimaro rivers. This species was descr ...

'' C. C. Jones, W. L. Smith & Sparks, 2010 (Makira rainbowfish) * ''

Bedotia geayi The red-tailed silverside, or zona (''Bedotia geayi'') is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish Endemism, endemic to the Mananjary River drainage in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss and introduced species. It has often been confused wi ...

'' Pellegrin, 1907 (Red-tailed silverside) * ''

Bedotia leucopteron ''Bedotia leucopteron'' is a species of rainbowfish from the subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard ...

'' Loiselle & D. M. Rodríguez, 2007 * ''

Bedotia longianalis ''Bedotia longianalis'' is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is the lower reaches of river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves t ...

'' Pellegrin, 1914 * ''

Bedotia madagascariensis ''Bedotia madagascariensis'' (zona) is a species of fish in the family Bedotiidae. It is endemic to Madagascar, where found in rivers and lakes between the Ivoloina River and the Manambolo Creek. It is commonly seen in the aquarium trade, whe ...

'' Regan, 1903 * ''

Bedotia marojejy ''Bedotia marojejy'' is a freshwater species of fish in the Bedotiidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar and can be found in the Manantenina River. It is threatened by habitat loss. This species was described by Melanie Stiassny nd Ian Harri ...

'' Stiassny & I. J. Harrison, 2000 * '' Bedotia masoala'' Sparks, 2001 * ''

Bedotia tricolor ''Bedotia tricolor'' is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss. This species was described by Jacques Pellegrin in 1932 with the type locality given as a tribu ...

'' Pellegrin, 1932 Additionally, several

have been rated by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

: * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Ankavia-Ankavanana' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Bemarivo' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Betampona' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Garassa' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Lazana' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Mahanara' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Manombo' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Namorona' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Nosivola' * ''Bedotia'' sp. nov. 'Sambava'

Description

''Bedotia'' species are all under 10 centimetres (4 in) SL, extremely colorful, elongate, and somewhat laterally compressed atherinid fishes that exhibit varying degrees of

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

. Except for coloration and pigmentation, Bedotia are morphologically conservative fishes. All ''Bedotia'' are sexually dimorphic, with males exhibiting larger adult size, enhanced coloration and pigmentation, as well as pronounced development of the unpaired fins.

Ecology

''Bedotia'' is exclusively freshwater, and members are found in small to medium-sized forested rivers and streams, and to a lesser degree in swamps and marshes, along the eastern slope of Madagascar.

Etymology

The genus is named after the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Maurice Bedot (1859-1927) who was director of the ''

Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Genève The Natural History Museum of Geneva (in French: ') is a natural history museum in Geneva, Switzerland. Louis Jurine’s collections of Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hemiptera are held by the museum. Other displays include a coll ...

'' where the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

of ''B. madagascarensis'' was lodged and who was editor of ''

Revue suisse de Zoologie The ''Revue suisse de Zoologie'' (English: ''Swiss Journal of Zoology'') is a biannual peer-reviewed scientific journal for zoological systematics. It is published by the Natural History Museum of Geneva (Switzerland). It is financed by the Swis ...

'' in which Regan's

was published in 1903.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q141320 Bedotiinae Endemic fauna of Madagascar