The evolution and genetic basis of a functionally critical skull bone, the parasphenoid, among Lake Malawi cichlids
Andrew J Conith, Sarah M Pascarella, Sylvie A Hope, R Craig Albertson · 2024
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Description
Fish skulls evolve fast in the great African lakes, where cichlid species have multiplied into hundreds of forms with distinct feeding styles. Andrew Conith, Sarah Pascarella, Sylvie Hope, and Craig Albertson study one skull bone, the parasphenoid, in this 2024 paper. The bone braces the braincase and soaks up the forces of biting, so its shape may track where a fish lives and feeds.
In one group that has moved between deep and shallow water many times, the bone's depth and length differed by habitat. To find the genes behind the shape, the team crossed two species with unlike bones and mapped the offspring. Two genome regions explained much of the variation. The same regions also shape the jaws and braincase, hinting that adaptive change reuses a small set of genetic levers.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Andrew J Conith, Sarah M Pascarella, Sylvie A Hope, R Craig Albertson |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2024 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 47 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |