Ecomorphological trends in the Artedidraconidae (Pisces: Perciformes: Notothenioidei) of the Weddell Sea

8 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables An ecomorphological study was performed on ten species of the family Artedidraconidae, the most benthic of the suborder Notothenioidei. These species are sympatric on the shelf of the Weddell Sea. The results show that the four genera comprising the family (Artedidraco,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Lombarte, Antoni, Olaso, Ignacio, Bozzano, Anna
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2003
Subjects:
Antarctica
Eye size
Mental barbel
Morphometry
Sensory organs
Trophic niche
Antarctic
Eastman
Morales
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/39995
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102003001196
Description
Summary:8 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables An ecomorphological study was performed on ten species of the family Artedidraconidae, the most benthic of the suborder Notothenioidei. These species are sympatric on the shelf of the Weddell Sea. The results show that the four genera comprising the family (Artedidraco, Dolloidraco, Histiodraco and Pogonophryne) can be differentiated by just a few morphometric features of their sensory organs and mouth. The genera were also clearly defined by the composition of their diet (benthic and epibenthic), the size of their prey, and their bathymetric distribution. Comparison of the morphological and ecological data shows a very close connection between sensory organs development, the mouth and bathymetric distribution. The morphological and ecological divergence observed can be explained as the result of the rapid adaptive radiation of the artedidraconids. The results confirm that characteristics of the sensory organs and alimentary structures are very suitable for the ecomorphological study of fishes The authors wish to thank Dr Wolf Arntz for his invitation to participate in the ANT XV/III survey. We express our gratitude to the scientific fishing teams, Drs A. Schröeder and R. Knust, for their help during this cruise, Drs Jordi Lleonart, Beatriz Morales-Nin and Eduardo Balguerias for scientific support, and Drs J. Montgomery and J.T. Eastman for their valuable comments. We also acknowledge the skill and professionalism of the RV Polarstern crew members. This work was undertaken as part of the SCAR EASIZ programme, and was supported by the Alfred Wegener Institute and the Spanish Antarctic Programme Peer reviewed

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