Oral shelling within an adaptive radiation of pupfishes: Testing the adaptive function of a novel nasal protrusion and behavioural preference.

ABSTRACT: Dietary specialization on hard prey items, such as mollusks and crustaceans, is commonly observed in a diverse array of fish species. Many fish consume these types of prey by crushing the shell to consume the soft tissue within, but a few fishes extricate the soft tissue without breaking the shell using a method known as oral shelling. Oral shelling involves pulling a mollusc from its shell and it may be a way to subvert an otherwise insurmountable shell defence. However, the biomechanical requirements and potential adaptations for oral shelling are unknown. Here, we test the hypothesis that a novel nasal protrusion is an adaptation for oral shelling in the durophagous pupfish (Cyprinodon brontotheroides). We first demonstrate oral shelling in this species and then predict that a larger na

SUBMITTER: St John ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8183458 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature