Biomechanical Specialization Acts as an Asymmetrical Constraint on the Phenotype.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate jaws involve trade-offs between the transmission of velocity and force, which underlies their feeding performance and potentially their evolution. We investigate the velocity-force trade-off and its implications for adaptation of the anatomically complex fish jaw system among 89 species of percid fishes (Percidae). We test alternative hypotheses about how the trade-off may symmetrically or asymmetrically constrain jaw diversity. We find that the trade-off has a strong impact on the structural diversity of the jaws, indicating that specialization acts as a constraint on the phenotype. Force-modified jaws are compact with short snouts and a small oral cavity, while velocity-modified jaws are more robust with elongate snouts and a large oral cavity. The distribution of craniofacial

SUBMITTER: Schelp MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12012895 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature