Karyotypes and DNA values for members of the suborder Esocoidei (Osteichthyes: Salmoniformes)

Karyotypes prepared from tissues of gills, gonads, fins, liver, and spleen, yielded the following diploid numbers: all Esox spp. 50, all Umbra spp. (excluding U. krameri) 22, Novumbra hubbsi 48, Dallia pectoralis 78. DNA measurements from Feulgen stain content of erythrocytes, indicated that the species could be divided into two categories: 30–39% of human-Esox spp., Dallia pectoralis, Novumbra hubbsi: 70% of human-Umbra spp. Chromosomal polymorphism was not observed among the various tissues examined nor was it observed among specimens from different habitats. Both the karyotypes and the DNA values indicated that the present tendency to combine the genera Umbra, Novumbra, and Dallia in the single family Umbridae may be ill advised.This work was supported by grants from the Fisheries Research Board of Canada and the National Research Council of Canada.