Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Extreme Morphology, Functional Trade-Offs, And Evolutionary Dynamics In A Clade Of Open-Ocean Fishes (Perciformes: Bramidae), Michelle C. Gilbert, Andrew J. Conith, Catherine S. Lerose, Joshua K. Moyer, Steve H. Huskey, R. Craig Albertson

Biology Department Faculty Publication Series

Synopsis When novel or extreme morphologies arise, they are oft met with the burden of functional trade-offs in other aspects of anatomy, which may limit phenotypic diversification and make particular adaptive peaks inaccessible. Bramids (Perciformes: Bramidae) comprise a small family of 20 extant species of fishes, which are distributed throughout pelagic waters worldwide. Within the Bramidae, the fanfishes (Pteraclis and Pterycombus) differ morphologically from the generally stout, laterally compressed species that typify the family. Instead, Pteraclis and Pterycombus exhibit extreme anterior positioning of the dorsal fin onto the craniofacial skeleton. Consequently, they possess fin and skull anatomies that are radically …