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The Evolution of Hermaphroditism in Fishes

  • Chapter
Intersexuality in the Animal Kingdom

Abstract

Recently, a renewed interest in the philosophy and methodology of systematic biology has resulted in some dramatic changes in our concepts of the phylogenetic relationships of the vertebrates. These changes are perhaps most obvious among the fishes, primarily because the fishes are the least well-known of all of the vertebrates. There are several reasons for this. First of all, many aquatic habitats are difficult to sample so that our inventory of recent species is still far from complete. Second, there are some 21,000 species of fishes, as many as all of the other vertebrate groups put together and third, the demands of moving through the relatively dense water medium have limited the general external form of fishes so that detailed anatomical studies have been required to reveal their true diversity. Finally, it is generally difficult to maintain and rear fishes, especially marine species, in the laboratory and this has severely limited the studies of genetics and physiology that could be carried out. Even today, with modern aquarium techniques, there are still only a relatively few species that can be maintained in the laboratory for generation after generation.

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Authors
  1. C. L. Smith
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Zoologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, D-65, Mainz, Saarstraße 21, Germany

    Rudolf Reinboth

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© 1975 Springer-Verlag Berlin · Heidelberg

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Smith, C.L. (1975). The Evolution of Hermaphroditism in Fishes. In: Reinboth, R. (eds) Intersexuality in the Animal Kingdom. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-66069-6_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-66069-6_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-66071-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-66069-6

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