Evolution of long-toothed fishes and the changing nature of fish–benthos interactions on coral reefs

Bellwood, David R.; Hoey, Andrew S.; Bellwood, Orpha; Goatley, Christopher H. R.

doi:10.1038/ncomms4144

Cited by 69 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

126

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Today, a single lineage (Acanthurus inc. Ctenochaetus) dominates herbivory on coral reefs both numerically and in terms of species richness [55][56][57][58]. The observed changes in surgeonfish morphology and inferred abilities strongly support a proposed two-phase development of coral reef ecosystems, with the first wave in the Eocene and the second wave of highly specialized forms arising in the Oligocene or Miocene [8,9,20]. This second phase was originally characterized by the presence of feeding forms with strong links to fast-growing, highly productive components of the reef benthos [8,9,18,20,21].…”

Section: (B) Modern Surgeonfishes and Rabbitfishes Exploit A New Reefmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…The observed changes in surgeonfish morphology and inferred abilities strongly support a proposed two-phase development of coral reef ecosystems, with the first wave in the Eocene and the second wave of highly specialized forms arising in the Oligocene or Miocene [8,9,20]. This second phase was originally characterized by the presence of feeding forms with strong links to fast-growing, highly productive components of the reef benthos [8,9,18,20,21]. It also coincided with an expansion of carbonate platforms in the IAA, an increase in the importance of Acropora in reef systems, a movement of marine biodiversity to the IAA and the rapid cladogenesis of major reef fish groups [3,4,8].…”

Section: (B) Modern Surgeonfishes and Rabbitfishes Exploit A New Reefmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Proacanthurus and Frigosorbinia). Indeed, the highly characteristic multidenticulate Acanthurus tooth form, which is closely associated with feeding on low heavily cropped algal turfs (or the epilithic algal matrix; EAM [9,51,52]), was already present in both Proacanthurus and Protozebrasoma [9,53,54]. The Eocene fauna thus appears to be functionally complete, at least in terms of major feeding modes.…”

Section: (B) Modern Surgeonfishes and Rabbitfishes Exploit A New Reefmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Fifty million years of herbivory on coral reefs: fossils, fish and functional innovations

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The evolution of ecological processes on coral reefs was examined based on Eocene fossil fishes from Monte Bolca, Italy and extant species from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Using ecologically relevant morphological metrics, we investigated the evolution of herbivory in surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae) and rabbitfishes (Siganidae). Eocene and Recent surgeonfishes showed remarkable similarities, with grazers, browsers and even specialized, long-snouted forms having Eocene analogues. These long-snouted Eocene species were probably pair-forming, crevice-feeding forms like their Recent counterparts. Although Eocene surgeonfishes likely played a critical role as herbivores during the origins of modern coral reefs, they lacked the novel morphologies seen in modern Acanthurus and Siganus (including eyes positioned high above their low-set mouths). Today, these forms dominate coral reefs in both abundance and species richness and are associated with feeding on shallow, exposed algal turfs. The radiation of these new forms, and their expansion into new habitats in the Oligocene–Miocene, reflects the second phase in the development of fish herbivory on coral reefs that is closely associated with the exploitation of highly productive short algal turfs.

show abstract

Section: (B) Modern Surgeonfishes and Rabbitfishes Exploit A New Reefmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: (B) Modern Surgeonfishes and Rabbitfishes Exploit A New Reefmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: (B) Modern Surgeonfishes and Rabbitfishes Exploit A New Reefmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Fifty million years of herbivory on coral reefs: fossils, fish and functional innovations

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…4, 6). The lateral teeth of T. gannitus are long, widely spaced, and caniniform, typical of the "piercing graspers" of Bellwood et al (2014). These teeth could have been well suited to puncturing soft prey.…”

Section: Discussion Trophic Niche Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feeding mechanisms in extant fishes are often highly variable among species, and jaws and teeth provide valuable information about their ecological and biological roles (Darras 2012;Bellwood et al 2014;Gibson 2015). Despite the relatively poor fossil record, paleontologists have made attempts to characterize jaw occlusion and feeding mechanics in ischnacanthiform acanthodians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precise occlusion and trophic niche differentiation indicate specialized feeding in Early Devonian jawed vertebrates

Blais

2017

FACETS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acanthodians may represent a paraphyletic assemblage of stem chondrichthyans, stem osteichthyans, stem gnathostomes, or some combination of the three. One of the difficulties in determining the phylogenetic affinities of this group of mostly small, spiny fishes is that several subgroups of acanthodians are represented by relatively little information in the fossil record. It is becoming increasingly apparent that to understand the evolution of gnathostomes, we must understand more about acanthodians. This study uses micro-computed tomography to test hypotheses about acanthodian jaw function, and in doing so provides insight into the form, function, and ecological role of ischnacanthiform acanthodian jaws and teeth from an extraordinary Early Devonian fossil locality in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The results of this study suggest that ischnacanthiform acanthodians may have coexisted by trophic niche differentiation, employing specialized feeding strategies during the Silurian and Early Devonian.

show abstract

Tooth replacement and attachment morphology in the Pacific Leaping Blenny, Alticus arnoldorum (Blenniiformes: Blenniidae: Salariini) with a discussion on tooth function

Williams

Evans

Simons

2021

The Anatomical Record

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Modes of teleost tooth replacement and attachment have historically been described using discrete classification systems that categorize major patterns across taxa. While useful, these discrete classification schemes understate teleost tooth diversity. The "unattached" dentition of salariin combtooth blennies (Blenniiformes: Blenniidae: Salariini) is frequently overlooked due to its perceived complexity, so we examined the Pacific Leaping Blenny, Alticus arnoldorum, to describe this complex morphology. Using a range of methods including histology, SEM, microCT scanning, and clearing and staining, we establish a descriptive model of tooth replacement for A. arnoldorum. We then use our descriptive model of tooth replacement to propose a hypothesis of tooth function in salariin blennies. Our results show that A. arnoldorum

show abstract

Evolution of long-toothed fishes and the changing nature of fish–benthos interactions on coral reefs

Cited by 69 publications

References 46 publications

Fifty million years of herbivory on coral reefs: fossils, fish and functional innovations

Fifty million years of herbivory on coral reefs: fossils, fish and functional innovations

Precise occlusion and trophic niche differentiation indicate specialized feeding in Early Devonian jawed vertebrates

Tooth replacement and attachment morphology in the Pacific Leaping Blenny, Alticus arnoldorum (Blenniiformes: Blenniidae: Salariini) with a discussion on tooth function

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About