Early life-history features associated with brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus (Siluriformes: Mochokidae).

ABSTRACT: The cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus, is the only known obligate brood parasite among fishes, exploiting the parental care of mouthbrooding cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika. Comparisons of this system to brood parasitism in birds may reveal broader principles that underlie the evolution of this life-history strategy in vertebrates. However, little is known about the features of the cuckoo catfish that enable this species to successfully parasitize cichlids. Here, we examine early ontogeny of the cuckoo catfish and compare it to that of its cichlid hosts as well as a non-parasitic congener. We found that cuckoo catfish embryos develop and hatch in advance of host embryos, and begin feeding on cichlid young just as they start to hatch. Overall timing of ontogeny in the cuckoo cat

SUBMITTER: Cohen MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6388042 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature