Comparative anatomy of the appendicular skeleton in Elopomorpha and key groups in Teleostei

• Grant number: 15/22010-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2016
• End date: September 01, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Mônica de Toledo-Piza Ragazzo
• Grantee: João Paulo Capretz Batista da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/10191-9 - Comparative anatomy of the appendicular skeleton in specimens of Elopomorpha restricted to foreign collections, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Since its origin in the Devonian, the Teleostei successfully irradiated to several aquatic environments, including freshwater rivers and even terrestrial habitats closely associated to aquatic surroundings. Teleosts exhibit a great variety of body forms and an enormous diversity of fin morphologies. The majority of the representatives of this taxon possess two sets of paired fins and three unpaired fins. These structures perform an important role in the swimming behavior of fish, being crucial for their survival. The Teleostei possess a modest endoskeletal component of the pectoral girdle associated to a dermal skeletal structure. Bony dermal rays (lepidotrichia) sustain the distal portion of the paired fins. The pectoral radials of Teleostei include primitively a propterygium, with the metapterygium being secondarily lost. The pelvic girdle comprehends a nearly triangular plate in which short proximal radials articulate. Considering the great diversity of formats of paired fins found in the Teleostei, a thorough anatomical analysis based on their skeletal structure is necessary for a better understanding of this enormous variation. In this way, the present project aims to describe and illustrate the skeletal structure of the paired fins and girdles focusing in Elopomorpha, which includes species ranging from forms with a primitive pattern of paired fins among Teleostei to representatives with reduction and loss of fins, but at the same time in key groups along the phylogeny of Teleostei. This detailed monographic anatomical work will provide detailed and updated information on the skeletal morphology of these structures in a comparative context and will attempt to understand significant modifications (i.e. close interaction between the pectoral and pelvic fins, reduction or loss of the pelvic fins), observed in more derived groups. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

C. B. DA SILVA, JOAO PAULO; B. VAZ, DIEGO F.. A redescription of the appendicular skeleton of Squalus acanthias (Elasmobranchii: Squaliformes: Squalidae). ACTA ZOOLOGICA, JUN 2021. (15/22010-3, 17/10191-9, 12/22692-9)

DA SILVA, JOAO PAULO C. B.; JOHNSON, G. DAVID. Reconsidering pectoral girdle and fin morphology in Anguillidae (Elopomorpha: Anguilliformes). Journal of Fish Biology, v. 93, n. 2, p. 420-423, AUG 2018. (15/22010-3, 17/10191-9)

C. B. DA SILVA, JOAO PAULO; B. VAZ, DIEGO F.. A redescription of the appendicular skeleton of Squalus acanthias (Elasmobranchii: Squaliformes: Squalidae). ACTA ZOOLOGICA, v. 103, n. 4, p. 14-pg., 2021-06-24. (15/22010-3, 12/22692-9, 17/10191-9)

DA SILVA, JOAO PAULO C. B.; DATOVO, ALESSIO; JOHNSON, G. DAVID. Phylogenetic interrelationships of the eel families Derichthyidae and Colocongridae (Elopomorpha: Anguilliformes) based on the pectoral skeleton. Journal of Morphology, v. 280, n. 7, p. 934-947, JUL 2019. (15/22010-3, 17/10191-9, 16/19075-9)

SMITH, DAVID G.; KARMOVSKAYA, EMMA S.; SILVA, JOAO PAULO CAPRETZ BATISTA DA. A new congrid eel (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Congridae) from the Western Pacific, with an analysis of its relationships. Zootaxa, v. 4845, n. 2, p. 191-210, SEP 2 2020. (15/22010-3, 17/10191-9)