Ontogeny and homology of dermal bones of the skull associated with laterosensory canals in basal actinopterygians (Vertebrata: Osteognathostomata)

• Grant number: 16/06677-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 04, 2016
• End date: October 03, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Flávio Alicino Bockmann
• Grantee: Pedro Pereira Rizzato
• Supervisor: Eric James Hilton
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/10849-6 - Anatomic atlas of Polypteriformes: a comparative analysis of basal gnathostomates, BP.DR

Abstract

There has been a long discussion in morphological literature about the role of the laterosensory sys-tem, especially the canal-inducing neuromasts, in the formation of dermal bones. Some authors de-fend the hypothesis of a developmental integration between the laterosensory canal system and some of the dermal bones of the skull, and consequently assume that the presence of canals should be used as reference to define bone homology across taxa. Other authors, however, argue that the relationship between the formation of the laterosensory canals and the origin of those dermal bones is only topographical, but not a causal one, although their development (i.e., ontogeny) could some-how become entangled in some taxa. The two distinct hypotheses result in conflicts and controver-sies about the identity (i.e., homology) of some of these bones, especially among anatomically di-vergent taxa, as is the case with basal, non-teleostean actinopterygians. Developmental series are one of the most important sources of morphological data that can be used to address homology ques-tions. First and foremost, comparative developmental data contribute to generate sound primary homology hypotheses to be codified in phylogenetic matrices, thereby improving the robustness of the analysis. Another value of ontogeny is as character data itself, especially in the context of com-parative developmental studies. The goal of the present project is to describe and compare, using developmental series of representatives of the basal groups of Actinopterygii - Polypteriformes, Acipenseriformes, Lepisosteiformes and Amiiformes - the ontogenetic development of the dermal bones of the skull related to the canals of the laterosensory system, and to use the data from the ontogeny of these bones to establish their homology among the groups of basal actinopterygians. (AU)

Scientific publications

(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)

DATOVO, ALESSIO; RIZZATO, PEDRO P.. Evolution of the facial musculature in basal ray-finned fishes. Frontiers in Zoology, v. 15, OCT 25 2018. (16/19075-9, 14/10849-6, 16/06677-0)

RIZZATO, PEDRO P.; POSPISILOVA, ANNA; HILTON, ERIC J.; BOCKMANN, FLAVIO A.. Ontogeny and homology of cranial bones associated with lateral-line canals of the Senegal Bichir, Polypterus senegalus (Actinopterygii: Cladistii: Polypteriformes), with a discussion on the formation of lateral-line canal bones in fishes. Journal of Anatomy, v. 237, n. 3, APR 2020. (14/10849-6, 16/06677-0)