Talk:Labroidei

This suborder is not supported by new molecular and DNA sequence evidence. Morphological characters that were used to define the group (pharyngeal jaws; &c.) are probably homoplasic, i.e. do not have a common evolutionary origin but evolved independently. See Wainwright et al., 2012 among others. Cichlidae, Embiotocidae, Pomacentridae removed from Labroidei by Wainwright et al. 2012.

References

• Wainwright, P.C., Smith, W.L., Price, S.A., Tang, K.L., Ferry, L.A., Sparks, J.S. & Near, T.J. 2012. The evolution of pharyngognathy: a phylogenetic and functional appraisal of the pharyngeal jaw key innovation in labroid fishes and beyond. Systematic biology 61(6): 1001–1027. (PDF) DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/sys060 Reference page.