Deep-time evolution of the cranial muscles of Chondrichthyes

• Grant number: 24/14599-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Aléssio Datovo da Silva
• Grantee: Marcus Vinicius Gonçalves Araújo
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes) are among the oldest surviving vertebrate lineages. Although their anatomy has been studied for centuries, the knowledge on the evolution of their cranial muscles remains poorly understood. These muscles are involved in vital processes such as feeding and respiration, and show a wide variation among the major gnathostome groups. The present project aims to advance our understanding of the evolution of cranial musculature in the major lineages of chondrichthyans. Given the phylogenetic position of chondrichthyans, this analysis has the potential to elucidate aspects of the early evolution of this system in jawed vertebrates as a whole. Additionally, the cranial muscle data will be subjected to Anatomical Network Analysis (AnNA), a novel methodology that allows mathematical assessment of the complexity of relationships between anatomical structures in organisms. AnNA is still underexplored in Brazil and, to our knowledge, has never been implemented in any chondrichthyan group.