Ammocrypta, the Sand Darters, Contains Two Subgenera Ammocrypta and Crystallaria (Etheostominae, Percidae, Actinopterygii)

The number of recognized darter genera has varied among authors from only 1 genus (Gilbert, 1888; Meek, 1891) to as many as 44 genera (Jordan, 1923). Bailey (et al., 1954) reduced the recognized number of darter genera to 3. Within the genus Ammocrypta, subgenus Ammocrypta, consists of 6 species and the subgenus Crystallaria, now has 2 species. The 7^th edition of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, recognizes 4 genera of darters, giving generic status to subgenera Ammocrypta and Crystallaria. I will examine the consequences of the statement by Page et al. (2013, p. 221), “In all of these studies, Ammocrypta and Crystallaria were found to be sister taxa, making the genus-level decision based on monophyly arbitrary.”