Morphofunctional analysis of the feeding apparatus in four Pomacentridae species:Dascyllus aruanus, Chromis retrofasciata, Chrysiptera biocellataandC. unimaculata

Abstract

Pomacentrids display a significant biodiversity through a variety of sympatric species with various feeding habits. The use of ecomorphological methods, based on the study of skeletal and muscular structures of the feeding apparatus could result in a better understanding of the adaptive radiation of this family. Significant differences in teeth and in the shape and thickened areas of the different bones were observed. The strongest structures occur in species which had teeth characteristic of suction feeding, and the weakest structures in species with biting teeth.

Diversification of the pectoral fin shape in damselfishes (Perciformes, Pomacentridae) of the Eastern Pacific

“…Most ecomorphological studies in Pomacentridae focused on the relationship between cephalic shape and feeding behavior (Gluckmann and Vandewalle 1998;Frédérich et al 2008;Aguilar-Medrano et al 2011;Frédérich and Vandewalle 2011). According to our results, locomotion can be viewed also as an important factor in the adaptive evolution of this group.…”

Comparative trophic morphology in eight species of damselfishes (Pomacentridae)

“…However, a mode of prey capture is not exclusive; many teleosts are able to modulate their feeding mode and to move from one category to another (Liem, 1980(Liem, , 1993Wainwright and Richard, 1995;Ferry-Graham et al, 2002). If Pomacentridae skull morphology allows us to consider they are suction feeders (Emery, 1973;Gluckmann and Vandewalle, 1998;Frédérich et al, 2006; present study), geometric morphometric techniques permit deeper understanding of the different ways of feeding and highlighting different adaptations among species.…”

“…In parallel, the hyomandibular shows a broader insertion site for the adductor mandibulae muscle, while its articulation condyles are more separated (Figs. 3, 6), indicating they could better prevent deformation due to the action of the adductor mandibulae muscle (ElshoudOldenhave and Osse, 1976;Vandewalle, 1978;Gluckmann and Vandewalle, 1998;Parmentier et al, 1998). The maxillary process of the palatine in Pl.…”

“…Studies of stomach contents reveal that damselfishes include planctivores, herbivores, coral predators or omnivores (Kuo and Shao, 1991). The first ecomorphological studies in this family (Emery, 1973;Gluckmann and Vandewalle, 1998) suggested that a detailed study of cephalic morphology could show different trophic groups and that this could explain a part of the diversity of Pomacentridae.…”

Molecular systematics of the damselfishes (Teleostei: Pomacentridae): Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences

“…Fitzpatrick (1992) performed the only explicit phylogenetic analysis of the Pomacentridae using morphology and found characters supporting the monophyly of the family, but subfamilial and generic relationships were almost completely unresolved. Overall, the family Pomacentridae appears relatively bereft of phylogenetically informative morphological characters (Emery, 1973;Fitzpatrick, 1992;Gluckmann and Vandewalle, 1998), which is not surprising given that the high species diversity in the family is associated with a relatively small number of general body plans. Molecular systematic investigation of the family is increasing in importance, but most studies to date have focused on congeneric relationships (Dascyllus: Bernardi and Crane, 1999;McCafferty et al, 2002; Amphiprion + Premnas: Elhott et al, 1999;Abudefduf.…”