Computed Tomography (CT) as an additional, non-invasive tool for studying the osteology of Lophiosilurus alexandri (Siluriformes: Pseudopimelodidae)

• Grant number: 24/03805-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Pereira Rizzato
• Grantee: Isadora Finamor de Souza
• Supervisor: Mark Sabaj Perez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Drexel University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/09873-9 - A study on morphological convergence between Lophiosilurus alexandri Steindachner, 1876 (Pseudopimelodidae, Siluriformes) and species of the genus Chaca Gray, 1831 (Chacidae, Siluriformes)., BP.IC

Abstract

Digital scanning has recently been incorporated into the study of Fish Morphology. It has been gaining relevance, since it is a non-invasive image rendering tool that can be used to precisely document and analyze the anatomy, with high accuracy and precision (Ford, 2023). In this context, this BEPE proposal aims to incorporate a digital scanning technique, computed tomography (CT), into the study of the skeleton of Lophiosilurus alexandri, by means of an internship at the Academy of Natural Sciences of the Drexel University, in Philadelphia, under the supervision of Mark H. Sabaj-Pérez. The institute has a historical reference in morphological studies especially of catfishes and has gained a lot of relevance due to the extensive use of CT for producing and analyzing morphological data of fish specimens housed in its scientific collection. The main expected academic gains of the internship are (1) the training on using CT data to study osteology of fishes in general and on using VGStudio as a software for CT data analysis in particular, a research resource increasingly important in the field of Fish Morphology; (2) the training on catfish osteology, by means of the analysis of specimens in different preparations deposited at ANSP; (3) the experience of working in one of the largest and more important scientific collections in the world and of interacting with acknowledged researchers working on the collection, including during the preparation of works and papers in collaboration.