Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Phylogeny, Ontogeny And Distribution Of The Ribbonfishes (Lampridiformes: Trachipteridae), Jennifer M. Martin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The ribbonfish family Trachipteridae (Lampridiformes) includes three well-defined genera (Trachipterus, Desmodema, and Zu), which are distributed worldwide throughout the pelagic marine environment as with most families of Lampridiformes, drastic changes in morphology occur throughout ontogeny due to extreme allometric growth. Combined with the rarity of specimens, this has led to the description of different life history stages as different species, rather than as part of the ontogenetic continuum of a single species. There is significant uncertainty concerning the ontogeny, distribution, nomenclature, number and phylogenetic affinity of trachipterid and other lampridiform genera.;The first chapter of my dissertation is a taxonomic review …