Comparative anatomy of the appendicular skeleton in specimens of Elopomorpha restricted to foreign collections

• Grant number: 17/10191-9
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): September 04, 2017
• Effective date (End): April 03, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Mônica de Toledo-Piza Ragazzo
• Grantee: João Paulo Capretz Batista da Silva
• Supervisor abroad: George David Johnson
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Local de pesquisa : Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/22010-3 - Comparative anatomy of the appendicular skeleton in Elopomorpha and key groups in Teleostei, BP.PD

Abstract

The more than 34,000 species of Teleostei currently living exhibit a great variety of body forms and an enormous diversity of fin morphologies, which perform an important role in the swimming behavior of these fishes. The teleost pectoral girdle possesses a modest endoskeletal component (scapula, coracoid, mesocoracoid) associated with a dermal skeletal structure (cleithrum, supracleithrum, three postcleithra, posttemporal and extrascapular). Bony dermal rays (lepidotrichia) attach to the distal portion of the paired fins. Teleost pectoral radials include primitively a propterygium, with the metapterygium being secondarily lost. The pelvic girdle consists of a triangular endoskeletal plate in which short proximal radials articulate. Considering the great diversity of forms of paired fins found in the Teleostei, a thorough anatomical analysis is necessary for a better understanding of this enormous variation. The present project aims to describe, illustrate and compare the skeletal structure of the appendicular skeleton in key groups of Teleostei, focusing on the Elopomorpha, a highly diverse taxon that includes members with complete pectoral and pelvic girdles and fins, to more derived taxa that lost most of the elements of the appendicular skeleton. The present proposal seeks support from the BEPE program of FAPESP to undertake a research internship in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution - NMNH in order to analyze relevant material consisting of taxa not represented in national collections and in this way, cover the diversity of taxa within the Elopomorpha and other teleost taxa. At the NMNH the project will be supervised by Dr. David Johnson, a leading expert in Teleost systematics, and who has a deep knowledge and wide experience in osteological studies of this highly diverse group of fishes.

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)

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. Web of Science Citations: 0.

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. Web of Science Citations: 0.

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. Web of Science Citations: 1.