Many ways to build an angler: diversity of feeding morphologies in a deep-sea evolutionary radiation: diversity of feeding morphologies in a deep-sea evolutionary radiation
Many ways to build an angler: diversity of feeding morphologies in a deep-sea evolutionary radiation: diversity of feeding morphologies in a deep-sea evolutionary radiation
Almost nothing is known about the diets of bathypelagic fishes, but functional morphology can provide useful tools to infer ecology. Here we quantify variation in jaw and tooth morphologies across anglerfishes (Lophiiformes), a clade spanning shallow and deep-sea habitats. Deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes are considered dietary generalists due to the necessity of opportunistic feeding in the food-limited bathypelagic zone. We found unexpected diversity in the trophic morphologies of ceratioid anglerfishes. Ceratioid jaws span a functional continuum ranging from species with numerous stout teeth, a relatively slow but forceful bite, and high jaw protrusibility at one end (characteristics shared with benthic anglerfishes) to species with long fang-like teeth, a fast but weak bite and low jaw protrusibility at the other end (including a unique 'wolftrap' phenotype). Our finding of high morphological diversity seems to be at odds with ecological generality, reminiscent of Liem's paradox (morphological specialization allowing organisms to have broader niches). Another possible explanation is that diverse ceratioid functional morphologies may yield similar trophic success (many-to-one mapping of morphology to diet), allowing diversity to arise through neutral evolutionary processes. Our results highlight that there are many ways to be a successful predator in the deep sea.
anglerfish, bathypelagic, jaw mechanics, Liem's paradox, Lophiiformes, teeth, Jaw/anatomy & histology, Feeding Behavior, Phylogeny, Biological Evolution, Animals, Fishes, Ecosystem, Tooth
20230049
Heiple, Zach
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Huie, Jonathan M.
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Medeiros, Aline P.M.
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Hart, Pamela B.
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Goatley, Christopher H.R.
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Arcila, Dahiana
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Miller, Elizabeth Christina
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28 June 2023
Heiple, Zach
c2e5eed2-0b47-43f4-aa0f-f1fa0ec225de
Huie, Jonathan M.
73404f30-be5d-47d3-8e48-3ed9ec621adc
Medeiros, Aline P.M.
c2660a11-05b4-498d-87ab-9477a3d35766
Hart, Pamela B.
5f06cd47-279a-440e-84f0-bbecedf090af
Goatley, Christopher H.R.
b158dc1a-76f3-4ace-9d33-260d8c76ac93
Arcila, Dahiana
27333283-a4b1-4d8c-ae9a-6134be549b38
Miller, Elizabeth Christina
3f115e3e-8420-4710-bc7f-920600fa99c1
Heiple, Zach, Huie, Jonathan M., Medeiros, Aline P.M., Hart, Pamela B., Goatley, Christopher H.R., Arcila, Dahiana and Miller, Elizabeth Christina
(2023)
Many ways to build an angler: diversity of feeding morphologies in a deep-sea evolutionary radiation: diversity of feeding morphologies in a deep-sea evolutionary radiation.
Biology Letters, 19 (6), , [20230049].
(doi:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0049).
Abstract
Almost nothing is known about the diets of bathypelagic fishes, but functional morphology can provide useful tools to infer ecology. Here we quantify variation in jaw and tooth morphologies across anglerfishes (Lophiiformes), a clade spanning shallow and deep-sea habitats. Deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes are considered dietary generalists due to the necessity of opportunistic feeding in the food-limited bathypelagic zone. We found unexpected diversity in the trophic morphologies of ceratioid anglerfishes. Ceratioid jaws span a functional continuum ranging from species with numerous stout teeth, a relatively slow but forceful bite, and high jaw protrusibility at one end (characteristics shared with benthic anglerfishes) to species with long fang-like teeth, a fast but weak bite and low jaw protrusibility at the other end (including a unique 'wolftrap' phenotype). Our finding of high morphological diversity seems to be at odds with ecological generality, reminiscent of Liem's paradox (morphological specialization allowing organisms to have broader niches). Another possible explanation is that diverse ceratioid functional morphologies may yield similar trophic success (many-to-one mapping of morphology to diet), allowing diversity to arise through neutral evolutionary processes. Our results highlight that there are many ways to be a successful predator in the deep sea.
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Accepted/In Press date: 8 June 2023
Published date: 28 June 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Z.H. was supported by an NSF REU internship (grant no. NSF DBI-1646666). Scanning was supported by the oVert TCN (grant no. NSF DBI-1701665). C.H.R.G. was supported by a Fulbright Future Scholarship Funded by the Kinghorn Foundation. E.C.M. was supported by an NSF PRFB (grant no. DBI-1906574). P.B.H. was supported by an NSF PRFB (grant no. DBI- 2109469). J.M.H. was supported by an NSF GRFP (grant no. DGE-1746914). D.A. was supported by NSF DEB-2144325 and NSF DEB-2015404. Acknowledgements
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© 2023 The Author(s).
Keywords:
anglerfish, bathypelagic, jaw mechanics, Liem's paradox, Lophiiformes, teeth, Jaw/anatomy & histology, Feeding Behavior, Phylogeny, Biological Evolution, Animals, Fishes, Ecosystem, Tooth
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 477730
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/477730
ISSN: 1744-9561
PURE UUID: 8a76dbb8-a344-4ad6-b729-986e9968457a
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Date deposited: 13 Jun 2023 17:23
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:07
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Contributors
Author:
Zach Heiple
Author:
Jonathan M. Huie
Author:
Aline P.M. Medeiros
Author:
Pamela B. Hart
Author:
Christopher H.R. Goatley
Author:
Dahiana Arcila
Author:
Elizabeth Christina Miller
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