Pectoral Dimorphism Is a Pervasive Feature of Skate Diversity and Offers Insight into their Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Mature skates (Batoidea: Rajoidei) display a unique form of sexual dimorphism in which males develop a concave anterior pectoral fin, giving them a bell-shaped appearance. Recent work has linked the male-specific transformation to differential skeletal development that is coincident with the rapid elongation of claspers, cartilage-supported intromittent organs. Still, little is known about the prevalence of pectoral dimorphism across skates or of interspecific variation in its expression. Here, we use various morphological approaches to broadly explore pectoral dimorphism in skates, with the goal of understanding its significance in their evolutionary history. We find that pectoral fin sexual dimorphism exists across skate diversity, positively identifying its presence in at least 131 spec

SUBMITTER: Martinez CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7671108 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature