Chew on this: Oral jaw shape is not correlated with diet type in loricariid catfishes.

ABSTRACT: The correlation between form and function is influenced by biomechanical constraints, natural selection, and ecological interactions. In many species of suction-feeding fishes, jaw shape has shown to be closely associated with diet. However, these correlations have not been tested in fishes that have more complex jaw functions. For example, the neotropical loricariid catfishes possess a ventrally facing oral disk, which allows for the oral jaws to adhere to surfaces to conduct feeding. To determine if jaw shape is correlated to diet type, we assessed oral jaw shape across 36 species using CT scans. Shape was quantified with traditional and automated landmarking in 3DSlicer, and diet type correlation was calculated using the phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) method. We found tha

SUBMITTER: Black CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9629652 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature