Skeletal development in the heterocercal caudal fin of spotted gar (lepisosteus oculatus) and other lepisosteiformes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The caudal fin of actinopterygians experienced substantial morphological changes during evolution. In basal actinopterygians, the caudal fin skeleton supports an asymmetrical heterocercal caudal fin, while most teleosts have a symmetrical homocercal caudal fin. The transition from the ancestral heterocercal form to the derived homocercal caudal fin remains poorly understood. Few developmental studies provide an understanding of derived and ancestral characters among basal actinopterygians. To fill this gap, we examined the development of the caudal fin of spotted gar Lepisosteus oculatus, one of only eight living species of Holostei, the sister group to the teleosts.

Results

Our observations of animals from fertilization to more than a year old provide the most de

SUBMITTER: Desvignes T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5902655 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature