[[ Moema apurinan Costa ^ZBK ]]

Discussion

Relationships among species of Moema ^ZBK and Aphyolebias ^ZBK are still unclear. Most characters used to diagnose species (e.g., number of vertebrae, number of anal and pectoral-fin rays, caudal-fin shape, presence of organs of contact on male scales, width of the basihyal and the rostral cartilage, and color patterns) are variable among potential outgroups to both genera (i.e., putative closely related genera, Micromoema Costa, 1998 ^ZBK, Renova Thomerson & Taphorn, 1995 ^ZBK, Trigonectes Myers, 1925 ^ZBK, Neofundulus Myers, 1924 ^ZBK, Pterolebias Garman, 1895 ^ZBK, Gnatholebias Costa, 1998 ^ZBK) (Costa, 1998, 2003b, d). For example, the reduced number of vertebrae in Moema apurinan ^ZBK and M. staecki, with a total of 33-35 vertebrae, is within the range of most species of closely related genera, which have 29-34 vertebrae, but contrasts with the remaining species of Moema ^ZBK which possess 36-39 vertebrae. This suggests that all species of Moema ^ZBK except Moema apurinan ^ZBK and M. staecki form a monophyletic unit defined by higher vertebra counts.