'~'l M/^ '.<^r 3 FIELDIANA ^ Zoology Published by Field Museum of Natural History Volume 69, No. 1 June 25, 1976 An Evaluation of Seth E. Meek's Contributions to Mexican Ichthyology ROBERT RUSH MILLER MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Seth Eugene Meek pioneered in serious exploration of the fresh-water fish fauna of Mexico during April to June, 1901, and February to May, 1903. On the first expedition he was accompanied by F. E. Lutz who served as a volunteer assistant. Travel was by railroad since serviceable roads were non-existent for coverage of this topo-graphically diversified country. Meek early recognized the inherent interest Mexico holds for biology in the interdigitation of tropical (lowland) and temperate (highland) faunas, as well as the presence of elements unique to the country; he also reeilized the biogeo-graphic value of fresh-water fishes in deducing former hydrographic connections (Meek, 1903). His studies culminated in a book (Meek, 1904) treating the fresh-water fishes north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in which the 1901 and 1903 localities are fully listed and some are mapped. All of the material in his preliminary contribution (Meek, 1902) is included in the more definitive 1904 work. My purpose in reviewing this work is to update Meek's results, giving the reasons for my conclusions when they differ from his, as the necessary basis for the systematics of a book I am writing on Mexican fresh-water fishes. I have examined all of the type specimens ( most paratypes as well as holot3T)es) representing the new species that Meek described from Mexico. It is to be expected that during the nearly 75 years since his book appeared, changes in nomenclature and in species identifications would be inevitable. Meek did much of the spadework Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 76-1211 US ISSN 0015-0754 Publication 1232 1 NATURAL HISTORY SORVH JUL 23 1976 LIBRARY
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