Different levels of amphibious adaptation in three mudskipper species from the Persian Gulf: Insights from skeleton and otolith characteristics

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Different levels of amphibious adaptation in three mudskipper species from the Persian Gulf: Insights from skeleton and otolith characteristics Mehdi Ghanbarifardi1, Carolin Gut2, Zeinab Gholami2, Hamid Reza Esmaeili3, Christoph Gierl2 and Bettina Reichenbacher2* 1 University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Iran 2 Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology and Geobiology, Germany 3 Shiraz University, Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Iran Mudskippers are amphibious gobies (Teleostei: Gobioidei) that have served as models for the specialised physiology and behaviour of fishes out of water. Here we present new data on the skeletons and otoliths of three endemic mudskipper species from the Persian Gulf, i.e. Boleophthalmus dussumieri, Scartelaos tenuis and Periophthalmus waltoni, supplemented by one specimen each of Periophthalmodon schlosseri and Pn. freycineti from a museum collection. The species investigated are known for their different levels of amphibious adaptation, which allowed us to examine whether their skeletal and otolith characters might also reflect associated functional constraints. Based on X-ray and SEM imaging, we show here that the five species studied share three exceptional characters. One concerns the principal caudal rays, one relates to the caudal endoskeleton, and one to the otolith. A relationship between character innovation and degree of amphibious adaptation can be suggested for two of these traits. Our data also reveal that the Periophthalmodon and Periophthalmus species have three further exceptional characters of the caudal endoskeleton in common. Moreover, three additional unique traits, two related to the caudal endoskeleton and one to the otolith, were identified in Ps. waltoni. Following previous work on mudskipper locomotion, we suggest that the particular traits of the principal caudal rays and caudal endoskeleton developed in response to the extra stresses imposed on the tail when the fish moves about on land or is performing terrestrial jumps (skipping). The unique characters related to the otoliths may be linked to specialization in intraspecific acoustic communication via the wet substratum of emerged mudflats, but further work is needed to support this assumption. Our new data may also facilitate recognition of fossil species of mudskippers – which are currently unknown – as both skeletons and otoliths have good fossilization potential. Keywords: Amphibious goby, Terrestrial adaptation, caudal fin and skeleton, Osteology, Otolith morphology Conference: XVI European Congress of Ichthyology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2 Sep - 6 Sep, 2019. Presentation Type: Oral Topic: MORPHOLOGY, ONTOGENY AND PALAEONTOLOGY Citation: Ghanbarifardi M, Gut C, Gholami Z, Esmaeili H, Gierl C and Reichenbacher B (2019). Different levels of amphibious adaptation in three mudskipper species from the Persian Gulf: Insights from skeleton and otolith characteristics. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XVI European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.07.00076 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 May 2019; Published Online: 14 Aug 2019. * Correspondence: Mx. Bettina Reichenbacher, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology and Geobiology, Munich, Bavaria, 80802, Germany, b.reichenbacher@lrz.uni-muenchen.de Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Mehdi Ghanbarifardi Carolin Gut Zeinab Gholami Hamid Reza Esmaeili Christoph Gierl Bettina Reichenbacher Google Mehdi Ghanbarifardi Carolin Gut Zeinab Gholami Hamid Reza Esmaeili Christoph Gierl Bettina Reichenbacher Google Scholar Mehdi Ghanbarifardi Carolin Gut Zeinab Gholami Hamid Reza Esmaeili Christoph Gierl Bettina Reichenbacher PubMed Mehdi Ghanbarifardi Carolin Gut Zeinab Gholami Hamid Reza Esmaeili Christoph Gierl Bettina Reichenbacher Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.