Abstract
Lanternfishes (Myctophiformes, ~260 species) are among the most abundant and species-rich groups of fishes endemic to the deep sea, and they play a major role in the oceanic ecosystem by transferring energy from shallower to deeper oceanic levels. Little is currently known regarding how lanternfishes have achieved such high species richness in the deep sea, and the majority of previous studies that have investigated diversification in this group have focused on bioluminescence. In this study, we investigate the variation in mouth size of lanternfishes in an effort to better understand potential mechanisms of speciation in this group, as previous studies have indicated that there is considerable variation in the size and biodiversity of prey items of lanternfishes. Geometric morphometrics were performed on 955 lanternfish specimens, and an ancestral character-state reconstruction was used to examine variation and evolution of mouth size in this group. We identify that mouth size in lanternfishes is highly ...
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