DETTAI, A.; CHEN, W.-J.; BONILLO, C.; LECOINTRE, G.; MNHN, Paris; Univ. Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln; MNHN, Paris; MNHN, Paris: New clades within the acanthomorph “radiation” from taxonomic congruence among nuclear and mitochondrial genes In the last two years, decisive steps have been made in favor of a resolution of the famous &laquo bush at the top&raquo of […]

MIYA, M.; NISHIDA, M.; Nat. Hist. Mus. Inst., Chiba; Ocean Res. Inst., Univ. of Tokyo: Major patterns of actinopterygian phylogenies: A new perspective based on >200 complete mitochondrial DNA sequences Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fish, is the most diversified group of all vertebrates, currently comprising over 25,000 species placed in 42 orders, 431 families, and 4075 […]

MARTIN, A. P. ; University of Colorado: Gene duplications and phylogenetic inference of vertebrates: the perils of paralogy Genes are often members of multigene families. Members of multigene families are related by descent. The size of gene families depends on the rate of birth and death of individual genes. Genes are born by gene duplication […]

WESTNEAT, M.W.; Field Museum, Chicago: Functional Morphology of Feeding in Fishes: Phylogenetic Trends in Mechanical Design of Cranial Levers and Linkages Fishes have met the challenge of capturing or ingesting food in a sensational diversity of ways. One of the hallmarks of this diversity is the complexity of the kinetic skull in fishes which may […]

STELLWAG, Edmund/J; East Carolina University: Fish Genome Evolution, Organismal Complexity and Gene Value Optima A growing body of evidence supports the hypothesis that genome expansion among chordates was fueled by a series of complete genome duplications. A corollary hypothesis proposes that genome level duplications provided the genetic basis for the continuous increase in organismal complexity […]

BERMINGHAM, E.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Republic of Panama: Evolutionary assembly of the Mesoamerican freshwater fish fauna Over the past 2-7 million years there has been extensive intercontinental exchange of flora and fauna between North and South America across the isthmian bridge of Panama, a phenomenon known as the Great American Interchange because of its […]

MABEE, Paula; University of South Dakota: Evolution of Median Fin Modules in the Axial Skeleton of Fishes Broadly conserved phylogenetic patterns in the directions of development within the median fins of fishes were identified from a survey of the developmental morphology of actinopterygian fishes. Four modules involved in their positioning and patterning were hypothesized. The […]

PARENTI, L.R. *; GRIER, H.J.; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Stock Enhancement Research Facility, Florida Marine Research Institute, Port Manatee: Evolution and Phylogeny of Gonad Morphology in Bony Fishes Gonad morphology at the gross anatomical or histological levels has long been studied to identify annual reproductive cycles and length of breeding […]

JOHNSON, G.D.; Smithsonian Institution: Diversity of the Acanthomorpha The spiny-rayed fishes, Acanthomorpha, are the crown group of the Teleostei. With over 300 families and 16,000 species, they comprise more than 60% of extant teleosts and about one-third of living vertebrates. They exhibit staggering diversity in size (1cm-17m), body form, skeletal and soft anatomy, habitat, behavior, […]

SALE, PF; University of Windsor, Ontario: Connectivity and Structure of Reef Fish Communities While descriptive data can suggest that the diverse communities of fish on coral reefs are closely co-evolved, equilibrial assemblages of species, these are highly dynamic, non-equilibrial assemblages with structure driven more by patterns of recruitment of individual species, than by patterns of […]