When Tradition Meets Technology: Systematic Morphology of Fishes in the Early 21^stCentury

Development of the muscles associated with the mandibular and hyoid arches in the Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii (Acipenseriformes: Acipenseridae)

“…To date, special emphasis has been put on their skeletal structures (Dillman & Hilton, 2015;Findeis, 1993Findeis, , 1997Hilton, Grande, & Bemis, 2011), especially the large dermal scutes of sturgeons (Lepr evost, Aza € Is, Trichet, & Sire, 2016), the development of the pectoral girdle (Dillman & Hilton, 2015), and the development of the head skeleton (e.g., de Beer, 1925;Jollie, 1980;Sewertzoff, 1928;Warth, Hilton, Naumann, Olsson, & Konstantinidis, 2017). Soft tissues have been studied to a lesser extent (Edgeworth, 1929;Sewertzoff, 1928;Stengel, 1962), in part because the study of soft tissue generally has been limited by methodological difficulties (Hilton, Schnell, & Konstantinidis, 2015;Konstantinidis et al, 2015).…”

The morphology, development, and evolution of the head of fishes: Foundational studies for a renaissance of comparative morphology

“…As we enter into the next 100 years of Acta Zoologica , we find ourselves at an interesting point in the history of comparative morphology. Specifically, we see the key points that concerned Holmgren and the other researchers whose body of work follow in this virtual issue to remain as keenly relevant today as they were 100 years ago when the journal began, and indeed through the history of comparative anatomy itself (Hilton et al, ). The basis for comparative morphology has and always will be the raw anatomical details captured in descriptions and images.…”

“…The same type of expansive, descriptive anatomy is found in the works of Holmgren's students, for example the PhD thesis of Figge Hammarberg that describes the development of the skull of Lepisosteus platystomus (Hammarberg, ; Figure ). With its more than 120 pages and 65 figures, it sets a great baseline and is still an important reference today (Hilton et al ; Konstantinidis et al, ). Torsten Pehrson (1887–1970; Figure ), Holmgren's heir for Acta Zoologica as well as a prolific author and editor of text books and other didactic materials (Johnels, ), devoted much of his research to the development and homology of the dermal bones, especially those of the sensory canal system.…”

“…For our own research, many of these papers have been important sources of knowledge and we are very happy to present some influential and often beautifully illustrated works in this field. Especially in the light of powerful new techniques now available and their benefit for the study of morphology (Hilton, Schnell, & Konstantinidis, ), it is all the more noteworthy how detailed and precise some of these works were executed, even by modern standards.…”

Improving Vertebrate Skeleton Images: Fluorescence and the Non-Permanent Mounting of Cleared-and-Stained Specimens

“…The improved communication of critical anatomical variation through visual means facilitates the explanations demanded by evolutionary research, specifically, and biology, generally. V ERTEBRATE biologists have been studying comparative anatomy using alizarin-stained skeletons since the beginning of the 20 th century (Hollister, 1934;Springer and Johnson, 2000;Hilton et al, 2015). Taylor (1967) revolutionized these studies by developing a trypsinbased method for the soft-tissue clearing of bone-stained vertebrates.…”