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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Systematic Implications of Brain Morphology in Potamotrygonidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes)

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Author(s):
Fontenelle, Joao Pedro [1] ; de Carvalho, Marcelo R. [2]
Total Authors: 2
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Toronto, Dept Biol Sci, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Mil Trail, Off s552, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4 - Canada
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rua Matao Travessa 14, 101, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: Journal of Morphology; v. 277, n. 2, p. 252-263, FEB 2016.
Web of Science Citations: 6
Abstract

The gross brain morphology, brain proportions, and position of cranial nerves in all four genera (Potamotrygon, Plesiotrygon, Paratrygon, and Heliotrygon) and 11 of the species of the Neotropical stingray family Potamotrygonidae were studied to provide new characters that may have a bearing on internal potamotrygonid systematics. The brain was also studied in four other stingray (Myliobatiformes) genera (Hexatrygon, Taeniura, Dasyatis, and Gymnura) to provide a more inclusive phylogenetic context for the interpretation of features of the brain in potamotrygonids. Our results indicate, based on neuroanatomical characters, that the genera Paratrygon and Heliotrygon are sister groups, as are the genera Potamotrygon and Plesiotrygon, agreeing with previous morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies. Both groups of genera share distinct conditions of the olfactory tracts, telencephalon and its central nuclei, hypophysis and infundibulum, morphology and orientation of the metencephalic corpus cerebelli, orientation of the glossopharyngeal nerve, and overall encephalic proportions. The corpus cerebelli of Paratrygon and Heliotrygon is interpreted as being more similar to the general batoid condition and, given their phylogenetic position highly nested within stingrays, is considered secondarily derived, not plesiomorphically retained. Our observations of the corpus cerebelli of stingrays, including Hexatrygon, corroborate that the general stingray pattern previously advanced by Northcutt is derived among batoids. The morphology of the brain is shown to be a useful source of phylogenetically informative characters at lower hierarchical levels, such as between genera and species, and thus, has significant potential in phylogenetic studies of elasmobranchs. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/05391-5 - Molecular evolution of regulatory regions of HOX genes associated with the morphology of fish fins, with special emphasis on Chondrichthyes
Grantee:Marcelo Rodrigues de Carvalho
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/02349-8 - Taxonomic review of the family Gymnuridae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatoidei)
Grantee:Marcelo Rodrigues de Carvalho
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/09877-0 - Comparative analysis of the morphology of the feeding apparatus in Myliobatiform rays (Chondrichthyes: Batoidea)
Grantee:Marcelo Rodrigues de Carvalho
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 10/01240-7 - Brain and cranial nerves of freshwater stingrays, family Potamotrygonidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes): taxonomic and phylogenetic implications
Grantee:João Pedro Fontenelle de Araújo Freire da Silva
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation