Karyotypes of three species of toadfish (Batrachoididae: Teleostei) from Venezuela

Abstract

Karyotypes of three species of toadfish (Amphichthys cryptocentrus, Batrachoides manglae and Thalassophryne maculosa), reported here for the first time revealed diploid complements of 46 chromosomes. Karyo-evolutionary trend of these species is discussed. Based on differences in arm number, we suggest that T. maculosa possesses the most evolved karyotype among the three species, hence it would be the more recent one, followed by B. manglae and A. cryptocentrus.

Keywords

• karyotype
• toadfish
• thalassophryne maculosa
• amphichthys cryptocentrus
• batrachoides manglae