Buccal venom gland associates with increased of diversification rate in the fang blenny fish Meiacanthus (Blenniidae; Teleostei).
Mol Phylogenet Evol
; 125: 138-146, 2018 08.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29597008
ABSTRACT
At the macroevolutionary level, many mechanisms have been proposed to explain explosive species diversification. Among them morphological and/or physiological novelty is considered to have a great impact on the tempo and the mode of diversification. Meiacanthus is a genus of Blenniidae possessing a unique buccal venom gland at the base of an elongated canine tooth. This unusual trait has been hypothesized to aid escape from predation and thus potentially play an important role in their pattern of diversification. Here, we produce the first time-calibrated phylogeny of Blenniidae and we test the impact of two morphological novelties on their diversification, i.e. the presence of swim bladder and buccal venom gland, using various comparative methods. We found an increase in the tempo of lineage diversification at the root of the Meiacanthus clade, associated with the evolution of the buccal venom gland, but not the swim bladder. Neither morphological novelty was associated with the pattern of size disparification in blennies. Our results support the hypothesis that the buccal venom gland has contributed to the explosive diversification of Meiacanthus, but further analyses are needed to fully understand the factors sustaining this burst of speciation.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ponzoñas
/
Perciformes
/
Biodiversidad
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Phylogenet Evol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article