ASU SoLS Faculty: Anthony Gill

Tony Gill received his PhD in 1991 from the University of New England, based on research conducted at the Australian Museum, Sydney. He later held postdoctoral fellowships at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) and American Museum of Natural History. Immediately prior to joining Arizona State University in 2003, he was a research scientist at the Natural History Museum in London.

Dr. Gill's research interests are primarily in the higher relationships and anatomy of acanthomorph (spiny finned) fishes, and the sytematics and historical biogeography of Indo-Pacific shore-fishes. The Acanthomorpha is a large, diverse group of fishes that includes almost one-third of all vertebrate species. Phylogenetic relationships among and within major acanthomorph orders are very poorly resolved. Dr Gills studies concentrate mainly on the largest acanthomorph (and vertebrate) order, the Perciformes, and are based primarily on osteological and myological characters.

The Indo-Pacific hosts the largest and least well-documented marine fish faunas in the world. Dr. Gill's studies on Indo-Pacific fishes are diverse, ranging from faunal surveys and checklists to taxonomic revisions and phylogenetic analyses. His studies of the historical biogeography of Indo-Pacific fishes use phylogenetic and distribution data to discover general biogeographic patterns, then explore the relationship between observed patterns and earth history (such as tectonic plate movements and sea-level changes). His studies suggest that the taxonomy of Indo-Pacific fishes is more poorly resolved than is generally appreciated, which has various implications for resource and conservation management.

He is also interested in the significance of natural history collections to science. Although museum specimens are perhaps most important in the foundation on which our systematic understanding rests, they also may provide important information for such diverse fields as conservation biology, ecology, reproductive biology, behavioral biology and functional morphology. Indeed, it is difficult to predict how a specimen collected for one purpose may contribute to future studies. As vouchers, museum specimens also play an important role in tying biological studies to a dynamic taxonomic framework, thus allowing studies to maintain an association with current taxonomic nomenclature. Ultimately, this association prolongs the lifespan of a study.

Selected Publications

Mooi, R.D. and A.C. Gill. In press. Notograptidae, sister to Acanthoplesiops Regan (Teleostei: Plesiopidae: Acanthoclininae), with comments on biogeography, diet and morphological convergence with Congrogadinae (Teleostei: Pseudochromidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Gill, A.C. and H. Tanaka. In press. Pholidochromis cerasina, a new species of pseudochromine dottyback from the West Pacific (Perciformes: Pseudochromidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.

Gill, A.C. and S.L. Jewett. In press. Eviota hoesei and E. readerae, new species of fish from the southwest Pacific, with comments on the identity of E. corneliae Fricke (Perciformes: Gobiidae). Records of the Australian Museum.

Gill, A.C. and D.F. Hoese. In press. Three new Australian species of the fish genus Xenisthmus (Gobioidei: Xenisthmidae). Records of the Australian Museum.

Gill, A.C. and A.J. Edwards. In press. Revision of the Indian Ocean dottyback fish genera Chlidichthys and Pectinochromis (Perciformes: Pseudochromidae: Pseudoplesiopinae). Smithiana Bulletin.

Mooi, R.D. and A.C. Gill. In press. Description of a new species of the fish genus Acanthoplesiops Regan (Teleostei: Plesiopidae: Acanthoclininae) from Tonga. Zootaxa.

Gill, A.C. 2004. Revision of the Indo-Pacific dottyback fish subfamily Pseudochrominae (Perciformes: Pseudochromidae). Smithiana Monograph 1: iii + 1-214, pls 1-12.

Gill, A.C. and A.J. Edwards. 2003. Pseudoplesiops wassi, a new species of dottyback fish (Teleostei: Pseudochromidae: Pseudoplesiopinae) from the West Pacific. Zootaxa 291: 1-7.

Edwards, A.J., A.C. Gill and P.O. Abohweyere. 2003. A revision of F.R. Irvines Ghanaian marine fishes in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Journal of Natural History 37(18): 2213-2267.

Mooi, R.D. & A.C. Gill. 2003. Grammatidae. Pp. 1370-1373. In: K.E. Carpenter (ed.). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2. Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO, Rome.

Gill, A.C. and U. Zajonz. 2003. Halidesmus socotraensis new species and Haliophis guttatus (Forsskl), new records of congrogadine fishes from the Socotra Archipelago (Perciformes: Pseudochromidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 116(1): 52-60.

Gill, A.C. and H. Senou. 2002. Lubbockichthys tanakai, a new species of pseudoplesiopine dottyback from the West Pacific (Perciformes: Pseudochromidae). Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 6(1): 1-4.

Gill, A.C. and J.M. Kemp. 2002. Widespread Indo-Pacific shore-fish species: a challenge for taxonomists, biogeographers, ecologists, and fishery and conservation managers. Environmental Biology of Fishes 65(2): 165-174.

Mooi, R.D. and A.C. Gill. 2002. Historical biogeography of fishes. Pp. 43-68. In: P.J.B. Hart and J.D. Reynolds (eds). Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries. Volume 1. Fish Biology. Blackwell Science, Oxford.

Gill, A.C. and R.D. Mooi. 2002. Phylogeny and systematics of fishes. Pp. 15-42. In: P.J.B. Hart and J.D. Reynolds (eds). Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries. Volume 1. Fish Biology. Blackwell Science, Oxford.

Gill, A.C. and A.J. Edwards. 2002. Two new species of the Indo-Pacific fish genus Pseudoplesiops (Perciformes, Pseudochromidae, Pseudoplesiopinae). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London, Zoology Series 68(1): 19-26.

Gill, A.C. and J.B. Hutchins. 2002. Paramonacanthus oblongus, the correct name for the Indo-Pacific fish currently called P. japonicus, with a recommendation on the nomenclature of Stephanolepis cirrhifer (Tetraodontiformes, Monacanthidae). Records of the Western Australian Museum 21(1): 107-109.

Zajonz, U., M. Beech and A.C. Gill. 2002. Fishes of sabkha-related habitats. Pp. 283-298. In: P. Boer and H.J. Barth (eds). Sabkha Ecosystems. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands.

Gill, A.C. 2001. Xenisthmidae. Pp. 3605-3606. In: K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. FAO, Rome.

Gill, A.C. and R. Fricke. 2001. Revision of the western Indian Ocean fish subfamily Anisochrominae (Perciformes, Pseudochromidae). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London, Zoology Series 67(2): 191-207.