scholarly journals Prolonged morphological expansion of spiny-rayed fishes following the end-Cretaceous

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ava Ghezelayagh ◽  
Richard C. Harrington ◽  
Edward D. Burress ◽  
Matthew A. Campbell ◽  
Janet C. Buckner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Shape ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Evolutionary Success ◽  
Gradual Accumulation ◽  
Phenotypic Diversification ◽  
Extensive Body ◽  
Lineage Diversification

Spiny-rayed fishes (Acanthomorpha) dominate modern marine habitats and comprise more than a quarter of all living vertebrate species1-3. It is believed that this dominance resulted from explosive lineage and phenotypic diversification coincident with the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass-extinction event4. It remains unclear, however, if living acanthomorph diversity is the result of a punctuated burst or gradual accumulation of diversity following the K-Pg. We assess these hypotheses with a time-calibrated phylogeny inferred using ultraconserved elements from a sampling of species that represent over 91% of all acanthomorph families, as well as an extensive body shape dataset of extant species. Our results indicate that several million years after the end-Cretaceous, acanthomorphs underwent a prolonged and significant expansion of morphological disparity primarily driven by changes in body elongation, and that acanthomorph lineages containing the bulk of the living species diversity originated throughout the Cenozoic. These acanthomorph lineages radiated into distinct regions of morphospace and retained their iconic phenotypes, including a large group of laterally compressed reef fishes, fast-swimming open-ocean predators, bottom-dwelling flatfishes, seahorses, and pufferfishes. The evolutionary success of spiny-rayed fishes is the culmination of a post K-Pg adaptive radiation in which rates of lineage diversification were decoupled from periods of high phenotypic disparity.

scholarly journals Mass extinction in tetraodontiform fishes linked to the Palaeocene–Eocene thermal maximum

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1866) ◽  
pp. 20171771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dahiana Arcila ◽  
James C. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Thermal Maximum ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Homogeneous Models ◽  
Speciation Rates ◽  
Mass Extinction Event ◽  
Lineage Diversification

Integrative evolutionary analyses based upon fossil and extant species provide a powerful approach for understanding past diversification events and for assessing the tempo of evolution across the Tree of Life. Herein, we demonstrate the importance of integrating fossil and extant species for inferring patterns of lineage diversification that would otherwise be masked in analyses that examine only one source of evidence. We infer the phylogeny and macroevolutionary history of the Tetraodontiformes (triggerfishes, pufferfishes and allies), a group with one of the most extensive fossil records among fishes. Our analyses combine molecular and morphological data, based on an expanded matrix that adds newly coded fossil species and character states. Beyond confidently resolving the relationships and divergence times of tetraodontiforms, our diversification analyses detect a major mass-extinction event during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), followed by a marked increase in speciation rates. This pattern is consistently obtained when fossil and extant species are integrated, whereas examination of the fossil occurrences alone failed to detect major diversification changes during the PETM. When taking into account non-homogeneous models, our analyses also detect a rapid lineage diversification increase in one of the groups (tetraodontoids) during the middle Miocene, which is considered a key period in the evolution of reef fishes associated with trophic changes and ecological opportunity. In summary, our analyses show distinct diversification dynamics estimated from phylogenies and the fossil record, suggesting that different episodes shaped the evolution of tetraodontiforms during the Cenozoic.

scholarly journals A remarkable new species of the rove beetle genus Anthobium Leach, 1819 from Eocene Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Omaliinae)

ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 973 ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Alexey V. Shavrin ◽  
Shûhei Yamamoto
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Baltic Amber ◽  
Median Carina ◽  
Rove Beetle ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
A New Species

An unusual new omaliine species, Anthobium alekseevisp. nov., is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber, tentatively placed in the megadiverse genus Anthobium Leach, 1819. A new monotypic species-group is established. The new species can easily be distinguished from other species of the genus by the larger body, shape of the subrectangular pronotum, and the presence of a median carina on the prosternum and large, subtriangular tooth on the inner side of each mesotibia, likely exhibiting a peculiar sexual dimorphism in the male. Based on the study of the specimen with support of microtomographic images, a brief comparative analysis of a new species with described extant species of Anthobium is provided.

scholarly journals The signature of competition in ecomorphological traits across the avian radiation

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20201585
Author(s):  
A. M. Chira ◽  
C. R. Cooney ◽  
J. A. Bright ◽  
E. J. R. Capp ◽  
E. C. Hughes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Phenotypic Evolution ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Phenotypic Diversification ◽  
Best Fit

Competition for shared resources represents a fundamental driver of biological diversity. However, the tempo and mode of phenotypic evolution in deep-time has been predominantly investigated using trait evolutionary models which assume that lineages evolve independently from each other. Consequently, the role of species interactions in driving macroevolutionary dynamics remains poorly understood. Here, we quantify the prevalence for signatures of competition between related species in the evolution of ecomorphological traits across the bird radiation. We find that mechanistic trait models accounting for the effect of species interactions on phenotypic divergence provide the best fit for the data on at least one trait axis in 27 out of 59 clades ranging between 21 and 195 species. Where it occurs, the signature of competition generally coincides with positive species diversity-dependence, driven by the accumulation of lineages with similar ecologies, and we find scarce evidence for trait-dependent or negative diversity-dependent phenotypic evolution. Overall, our results suggest that the footprint of interspecific competition is often eroded in long-term patterns of phenotypic diversification, and that other selection pressures may predominantly shape ecomorphological diversity among extant species at macroevolutionary scales.

scholarly journals Body-shape diversity in Triassic–Early Cretaceous neopterygian fishes: sustained holostean disparity and predominantly gradual increases in teleost phenotypic variety

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Clarke ◽  
Matt Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Aquatic Vertebrates ◽  
Almost All

Comprising Holostei and Teleostei, the ~32,000 species of neopterygian fishes are anatomically disparate and represent the dominant group of aquatic vertebrates today. However, the pattern by which teleosts rose to represent almost all of this diversity, while their holostean sister-group dwindled to eight extant species and two broad morphologies, is poorly constrained. A geometric morphometric approach was taken to generate a morphospace from more than 400 fossil taxa, representing almost all articulated neopterygian taxa known from the first 150 million years—roughly 60%—of their history (Triassic‒Early Cretaceous). Patterns of morphospace occupancy and disparity are examined to: (1) assess evidence for a phenotypically “dominant” holostean phase; (2) evaluate whether expansions in teleost phenotypic variety are predominantly abrupt or gradual, including assessment of whether early apomorphy-defined teleosts are as morphologically conservative as typically assumed; and (3) compare diversification in crown and stem teleosts. The systematic affinities of dapediiforms and pycnodontiforms, two extinct neopterygian clades of uncertain phylogenetic placement, significantly impact patterns of morphological diversification. For instance, alternative placements dictate whether or not holosteans possessed statistically higher disparity than teleosts in the Late Triassic and Jurassic. Despite this ambiguity, all scenarios agree that holosteans do not exhibit a decline in disparity during the Early Triassic‒Early Cretaceous interval, but instead maintain their Toarcian‒Callovian variety until the end of the Early Cretaceous without substantial further expansions. After a conservative Induan‒Carnian phase, teleosts colonize (and persistently occupy) novel regions of morphospace in a predominantly gradual manner until the Hauterivian, after which expansions are rare. Furthermore, apomorphy-defined teleosts possess greater phenotypic variety than typically assumed. Comparison of crown and stem teleost partial disparity indicates that, despite a statistically significant increase in crown teleost disparity between the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous, stem teleosts remained important long-term contributors to overall teleost disparity during this time.

scholarly journals The marine fishes of St Eustatius Island, northeastern Caribbean: an annotated, photographic catalog

ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1007 ◽  
pp. 145-180
Author(s):  
David Ross Robertson ◽  
Carlos J. Estapé ◽  
Allison M. Estapé ◽  
Ernesto Peña ◽  
Luke Tornabene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Fish ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Species List ◽  
Deep Reef ◽  
Marine Habitats

Sint Eustatius (Statia) is a 21 km2 island situated in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The most recent published sources of information on that island’s marine fish fauna is in two non-governmental organization reports from 2015–17 related to the formation of a marine reserve. The species-list in the 2017 report was based on field research in 2013–15 using SCUBA diving surveys, shallow “baited underwater video surveys” (BRUVs), and data from fishery surveys and scientific collections over the preceding century. That checklist comprised 304 species of shallow (mostly) and deep-water fishes. In 2017 the Smithsonian Deep Reef Observation Project surveyed deep-reef fishes at Statia using the crewed submersible Curasub. That effort recorded 120 species, including 59 new occurrences records. In March-May 2020, two experienced citizen scientists completed 62 SCUBA dives there and recorded 244 shallow species, 40 of them new records for Statia. The 2017–2020 research effort increased the number of species known from the island by 33.6% to 406. Here we present an updated catalog of that marine fish fauna, including voucher photographs of 280 species recorded there in 2017 and 2020. The Statia reef-fish fauna likely is incompletely documented as it has few small, shallow, cryptobenthic species, which are a major component of the regional fauna. A lack of targeted sampling is probably the major factor explaining that deficit, although a limited range of benthic marine habitats may also be contributing.

scholarly journals Electroreception in monotremes

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (10) ◽  
pp. 1447-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.D. Pettigrew
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fish ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Evolutionary Account ◽  
Central Processing ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Extensive Body ◽  
Skin Mechanoreceptors

I will briefly review the history of the bill sense of the platypus, a sophisticated combination of electroreception and mechanoreception that coordinates information about aquatic prey provided from the bill skin mechanoreceptors and electroreceptors, and provide an evolutionary account of electroreception in the three extant species of monotreme (and what can be inferred of their ancestors). Electroreception in monotremes is compared and contrasted with the extensive body of work on electric fish, and an account of the central processing of mechanoreceptive and electroreceptive input in the somatosensory neocortex of the platypus, where sophisticated calculations seem to enable a complete three-dimensional fix on prey, is given.

The fossil record of Ceratophrys Wied-Neuwied (Anura: Ceratophryidae): a revision and update of fossil South American horned frogs

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4658 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-68
Author(s):  
LAURA NICOLI
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
South American ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Environmental Tolerance ◽  
Pampean Region ◽  
Fossil Material ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Present Distribution ◽  
Living Species

Ceratophrys is the most diverse and widely distributed genus of Ceratophryidae, the clade of South American horned frogs. Numerous anuran fossil remains, including several fossil species, have been assigned to this genus. However, this seemingly extensive fossil record is problematic because several of the fossils are not properly identified and most of the taxonomic assignations are not justified. The present study traces all the fossil material attributed to Ceratophrys, clarifying, when possible, institutional allocations. Each of the remains was examined and its taxonomic assignation revisited, based on the morphology and possible synapomorphies of the genus, including its living species. Numerous fossils were properly identified and assigned with certainty to Ceratophrys. Only one fossil species, Ceratophrys ameghinorum, is considered valid. This information, along with recently reported evidence of fossil Ceratophrys, is briefly summarized to serve as a practical reference for the entire known fossil record of the genus. The fossil record is not especially informative about the evolution or distribution pattern of Ceratophrys, because most of the remains are relatively young (post-Miocene), collected within the present distribution of the genus, and morphologically consistent with that of the extant species. However, some useful information has emerged. The presence of Ceratophrys is well documented since the Neogene in the Pampean Region of South America. The single valid fossil species, Ceratophrys ameghinorum, possesses a unique combination of characters that reflects a mixture of characters observed in different clades of the genus; thus, resolution of its phylogentic position will inform our understanding of the evolution of the genus. The paleoenvironmental significance of some Ceratophrys fossils is also discussed, addressing the wide, but incompletely known current distribution and environmental tolerance of the genus.

Extraordinary cranial specialization in a new genus of extinct duck (Aves: Anseriformes) from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2296 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW N. IWANIUK ◽  
STORRS L. OLSON ◽  
HELEN F. JAMES
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
Foramen Magnum ◽  
Exit Point ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mandibular Foramen ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Tactile Cues

Talpanas lippa is described as a new genus and species of waterfowl from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands, that is unlike any other known member of the order. It is characterized by a short, stout tarsometatarsus and a braincase that is shallow and wide relative to its length with very small orbits. In comparison with extant species, the optic foramen of Talpanas is remarkably small whereas the maxillo-mandibular foramen, which is the exit point of the trigeminal nerve, is grossly enlarged. Relative to skull length and foramen magnum area, the maxillo-mandibular foramen is one order of magnitude larger in cross-sectional area than that of extant Anseriformes. We conclude that Talpanas had reduced visual abilities, as reflected externally by its small orbits and optic foramen, and a grossly hypertrophied trigeminal foramen. Taken together, this suggests that Talpanas may have been more heavily reliant upon somatosensory (tactile) cues for foraging than any living species of bird. Pectoral elements are unknown, but the evident lack of keen eyesight suggests that the species was flightless, as were many other insular waterfowl.

scholarly journals Partially incorrect fossil data augment analyses of discrete trait evolution in living species

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 20160392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark N. Puttick
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Ancestral State Reconstruction ◽  
Character State ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Trait Evolution ◽  
State Reconstruction ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Likelihood Model ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Fossil Data

Ancestral state reconstruction of discrete character traits is often vital when attempting to understand the origins and homology of traits in living species. The addition of fossils has been shown to alter our understanding of trait evolution in extant taxa, but researchers may avoid using fossils alongside extant species if only few are known, or if the designation of the trait of interest is uncertain. Here, I investigate the impacts of fossils and incorrectly coded fossils in the ancestral state reconstruction of discrete morphological characters under a likelihood model. Under simulated phylogenies and data, likelihood-based models are generally accurate when estimating ancestral node values. Analyses with combined fossil and extant data always outperform analyses with extant species alone, even when around one quarter of the fossil information is incorrect. These results are especially pronounced when model assumptions are violated, such as when there is a trend away from the root value. Fossil data are of particular importance when attempting to estimate the root node character state. Attempts should be made to include fossils in analysis of discrete traits under likelihood, even if there is uncertainty in the fossil trait data.

scholarly journals Evolutionary shifts in extant mustelid (Mustelidae: Carnivora) cranial shape, body size and body shape coincide with the Mid-Miocene Climate Transition

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 20190155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris J. Law
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Adaptive Landscapes ◽  
Global Cooling ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Climate Transition ◽  
Lineage Diversification ◽  
Cranial Shape

Environmental changes can lead to evolutionary shifts in phenotypic traits, which in turn facilitate the exploitation of novel adaptive landscapes and lineage diversification. The global cooling, increased aridity and expansion of open grasslands during the past 50 Myr are prime examples of new adaptive landscapes that spurred lineage and ecomorphological diversity of several mammalian lineages such as rodents and large herbivorous megafauna. However, whether these environmental changes facilitated evolutionary shifts in small- to mid-sized predator morphology is unknown. Here, I used a complete cranial and body morphological dataset to examine the timing of evolutionary shifts in cranial shape, body size and body shape within extant mustelids (martens, otters, polecats and weasels) during the climatic and environmental changes of the Cenozoic. I found that evolutionary shifts in all three traits occurred within extant mustelid subclades just after the onset of the Mid-Miocene Climate Transition. These mustelid subclades first shifted towards more elongate body plans followed by concurrent shifts towards smaller body sizes and more robust crania. I hypothesize that these cranial and body morphological shifts enabled mustelids to exploit novel adaptive zones associated with the climatic and environmental changes of the Mid to Late Miocene, which facilitated significant increases in clade carrying capacity.

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