Department of Science, Deutsches Meeresmuseum, Stralsund, Germany.
Institute for Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
J Fish Biol. 2020 Jun;96(6):1320-1340. doi: 10.1111/jfb.14281. Epub 2020 Mar 19.
Grey mullets are remarkably characterized by their overall uniform external morphology. Identifying species as well as positioning the Mugiliformes in a phylogenetic context is rather difficult. Most recently they were placed in the newly erected Ovalentaria, but more detailed relationships to potential sister taxa were not resolved. Studying the internal morphology, especially the osteology, might provide new insights into the evolution of the Mugiliformes as well as help clarify their phylogenetic position within the Ovalentaria. A detailed osteology of the golden grey mullet Liza aurata is presented. The use of cleared and stained specimens allowed for a complete examination of bony and cartilaginous structures, and a 3D reconstruction from a μCT data set provided additional information on the positional relationships of the bones. Following this, the data obtained were compared with different mugilid species, particularly with the flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus. Several differences between these species could be identified, such as the position of the basisphenoid, the shape of the hyomandibular and the composition of the branchial arches. These characters might help in understanding the evolutionary changes happening within the mugiliforms and will provide the basis to study this taxon in detail, finally allowing the reconstruction of the body plan of grey mullets.
灰鲻鱼的整体外部形态非常均匀，具有显著特征。鉴定物种以及确定鲻形目在系统发育中的位置相当困难。最近它们被归入新设立的 Ovalentaria 目，但与潜在姐妹类群的更详细关系尚未解决。研究内部形态，特别是骨骼形态，可能为鲻形目鱼类的进化提供新的见解，并有助于澄清它们在 Ovalentaria 目中的系统发育位置。本文详细介绍了金灰鲻鱼 Liza aurata 的骨骼形态。使用透明和染色标本可以全面检查骨骼和软骨结构，而从 μCT 数据集进行的 3D 重建提供了有关骨骼位置关系的附加信息。在此之后，将获得的数据与不同的鲻鱼物种进行了比较，特别是与平头灰鲻鱼 Mugil cephalus 进行了比较。可以识别出这些物种之间的一些差异，例如基蝶骨的位置、舌颌骨的形状和鳃弓的组成。这些特征可能有助于理解鲻形目鱼类内部发生的进化变化，并为详细研究该类群提供基础，最终允许重建灰鲻鱼的身体形态。
