Département d'Ecologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, Case postale 55, 75231, Paris Cedex 5, France.
Zoology (Jena). 2011 Apr;114(2):78-84. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2010.10.004.
Anguilliform or eel-like fishes are typically bottom dwellers, some of which are specialized burrowers. Although specializations for burrowing are predicted to affect the kinematics of swimming, it remains unknown to what extent this is actually the case. Here we examine swimming kinematics and efficiency of two burrowing anguilliform species, Pisodonophis boro and Heteroconger hassi, with different degrees of specialization for burrowing. Our data suggest that differences in the swimming kinematics may indeed be related to the differences in burrowing specialization and style between both species. The resemblance between the swimming kinematics of P. boro and previously published data for Anguilla anguilla and Anguilla rostrata may be linked with the relatively limited burrowing specialization of P. boro and suggests an overall stereotypy in anguilliform forward-swimming patterns. The body of H. hassi, in contrast, is more specialized for tail-first burrowing and backward swimming bears a striking resemblance to the backward burrowing motions observed in this species. These motions differ significantly from backward swimming in Anguilla and in P. boro. The kinematics of forward swimming are, however, comparable across species. Thus, our data suggest that specializations for burrowing may affect swimming kinematics in anguilliform fishes, but also that forward swimming and burrowing are not necessarily incompatible. Future studies comparing the kinematics and mechanics of burrowing in these and other anguilliform fishes are needed to better understand how specializations for burrowing constrain backward swimming in H. hassi.
鳗鲡形或鳗鲡状鱼类通常为底栖动物，其中一些是专门的穴居动物。尽管穴居的专业化被预测会影响游泳的运动学，但实际上这种影响的程度仍不清楚。在这里，我们研究了两种穴居鳗鲡鱼类——Pisodonophis boro 和 Heteroconger hassi 的游泳运动学和效率，它们在穴居专业化和方式上存在不同程度的专业化。我们的数据表明，游泳运动学的差异可能确实与这两个物种之间的穴居专业化和风格的差异有关。P. boro 的游泳运动学与以前发表的 Anguilla anguilla 和 Anguilla rostrata 的数据相似，这可能与 P. boro 相对有限的穴居专业化有关，并表明鳗鲡向前游动模式的整体刻板性。相比之下，H. hassi 的身体更专门用于先尾后钻的方式，向后游泳与在该物种中观察到的向后钻洞动作惊人地相似。这些动作与 Anguilla 和 P. boro 的向后游泳有很大的不同。然而，向前游泳的运动学在不同物种之间是可比的。因此，我们的数据表明，穴居的专业化可能会影响鳗鲡鱼类的游泳运动学，但也表明向前游泳和穴居不一定不兼容。未来的研究需要比较这些和其他鳗鲡鱼类的穴居运动学和力学，以更好地理解穴居专业化如何限制 H. hassi 的向后游泳。
