Comparable ages for the independent origins of electrogenesis in African and South American weakly electric fishes.

ABSTRACT: One of the most remarkable examples of convergent evolution among vertebrates is illustrated by the independent origins of an active electric sense in South American and African weakly electric fishes, the Gymnotiformes and Mormyroidea, respectively. These groups independently evolved similar complex systems for object localization and communication via the generation and reception of weak electric fields. While good estimates of divergence times are critical to understanding the temporal context for the evolution and diversification of these two groups, their respective ages have been difficult to estimate due to the absence of an informative fossil record, use of strict molecular clock models in previous studies, and/or incomplete taxonomic sampling. Here, we examine the timing of the or

SUBMITTER: Lavoue S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3351409 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature