Morphological characters in light of new molecular phylogenies: the caudal-fin skeleton of Ovalentaria
The Ovalentaria is a taxon of teleosts that has been proposed based on molecular analyses only. Previously widely separated families are assembled in this taxon. For the first time, the Ovalentaria are analysed using a comparative morphological approach. The caudal-fin skeleton of 355 species coveri...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Royal Society
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211605 |
| Summary: | The Ovalentaria is a taxon of teleosts that has been proposed based on molecular analyses only. Previously widely separated families are assembled in this taxon. For the first time, the Ovalentaria are analysed using a comparative morphological approach. The caudal-fin skeleton of 355 species covering all 48 ovalentarian families are examined in cleared and stained specimens, µCT datasets and X-ray images as well as from the literature. A total of 38 morphological characters are evaluated and used for ancestral character state reconstructions and phylogenetic analyses. Results provide hypotheses for a scenario of the evolution of the caudal-fin skeleton and its ground plan in Ovalentaria. An evolutionary trend towards the reduction of skeletal elements in the caudal fin is observed. Connections between the evolution of the caudal-fin skeleton and modes of locomotion found in ovalentarian taxa are discussed. Phylogenetic analyses based on the caudal-fin morphology provide topologies for intra-ovalentarian relationships that largely agree with molecular hypotheses. |
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| ISSN: | 2054-5703 |