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Existing phylogenetic hypotheses on the intrarelationships of South American pimelodid catfishes are incompletely resolved and based almost entirely on morphological data. This study analyzed more than seven kilobases of aligned nucleotide sequences from the rag1 and rag2 nuclear genes, and the 12S, 16S and cytochrome b mitochondrial genes for 52 nominal and five undescribed pimelodid species representing 27 of 31 extant genera. Results of Bayesian likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses of the combined sequence data consistently recover 40 monophyletic pimelodid clades above the species level.

The basal lineages of Pimelodidae are Steindachneridion and Phractocephalus that are serially, or together as small clade, sister to all other members of the family. Leiarius and the nominal Perrunichthys perruno are sister to the neopimelodines, a clade comprised of the remaining pimelodids …