KARYOLOGY OF 8 SPECIES OF FISH BELONGING TO THE FAMILY PERCIDAE

Four spp. of fish from the genus Etheostoma [E. nigrum, E. exile, E. caeruleum and E. flabellare] 2 spp. from the genus Percina [P. caprodes and P. maculata], the yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and the walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum), from the family Percidae, were examined karyotypically. All species had a diploid number of 48 chromosomes. Similarity in the karyotype of the yellow perch and walleye suggests a monophyletic origin for the subfamilies Percinae and Luciopercinae. Evolution in the family involved pericentric inversions and (or) translocations of chromosomes giving rise to metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes in the genera Percina and Etheostoma, E. exile, E. flabellare and E. caeruleum all show a marked reduction in the size of the smallest pair of homologs (group C). The last 2 pairs of homologs in E. nigrum are of uniform size.