Osteological study of girdles in, selected representatives of five families of flat-fishes (Pleuronectiformes)

Abstract

This paper deals with the osteology of girdles in representatives of five families of Pleuronectiform fishes. A comparative account of the appendicular skeleton shows that the family Psettodidae has primitive characters that have progressively undergone reduction, resulting in the absence of basic girdle bones in other families studied. Even though the family Psettodidae has some specialized characters, its members still have so many similarities with other families that this leads to the suggestion of a common origin of all the families studied.