Comparative Allometric Growth of the Mimetic Ephippid Reef Fishes Chaetodipterus faber and Platax orbicularis

PLoS One. 2015 Dec 2;10(12):e0143838. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143838. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Mimesis is a relatively widespread phenomenon among reef fish, but the ontogenetic processes relevant for mimetic associations in fish are still poorly understood. In the present study, the allometric growth of two allopatric leaf-mimetic species of ephippid fishes, Chaetodipterus faber from the Atlantic and Platax orbicularis from the Indo-Pacific, was analyzed using ten morphological variables. The development of fins was considered owing to the importance of these structures for mimetic behaviors during early life stages. Despite the anatomical and behavioral similarities in both juvenile and adult stages, C. faber and P. orbicularis showed distinct patterns of growth. The overall shape of C. faber transforms from a rounded-shape in mimetic juveniles to a lengthened profile in adults, while in P. orbicularis, juveniles present an oblong profile including dorsal and anal fins, with relative fin size diminishing while the overall profile grows rounder in adults. Although the two species are closely-related, the present results suggest that growth patterns in C. faber and P. orbicularis are different, and are probably independent events in ephippids that have resulted from similar selective processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Fins / anatomy & histology
  • Animal Fins / growth & development
  • Animals
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Perciformes / anatomy & histology*
  • Perciformes / growth & development*
  • Species Specificity

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), providing the scholarship to the first author due to period of 2004-2007; the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES, process #6718-10-8), providing the scholarship to the author during the period of 2011; CNPq/FAPESPA (process # 456780/2012), providing the scholarship to the author during the period of 2013-2014.