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The European eel is a barracuda sister

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 14:10

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Earlier we looked at
the moray eel and the electric eel.

Today the European eel,
(Anguilla anguilla) enters the large reptile tree (LRT, 1510 taxa) alongside the barracuda, Sphyraena. Phylogenetically they are some distance away from the electric eel (Electrophorus) and the moray eel (Gymnothorax).

Figure 1. The European eel, Anguilla anguilla in vivo.

Figure 2. The skull of Anguilla from Gregory 1936, with bones colored here and matched to an invivo photo. The traits shown here are closest to a tested barracuda. The lack of tiny circumorbital bones is shared with the related Northern pike, a freshwater barracuda.

Anguilla anguilla (Linneaus 1758; up to 80cm in length, 1.5 exceptionally) is the extant European eel, a sister to the barracuda in the LRT. It lacks pelvic fins and the tail has reverted to a straight tail. The life cycle includes breeding and young hatching in the mid-Atlantic with migration back to European rivers before the adults return to the mid-Atlantic. Anguilla lacks the circumorbital bones, traits shared with the Northern Pike, Esox. Bones are relabeled here based on sister taxa. Note the premaxillae do not meet medially. The vomer is the anteriormost bone.

Figure 3. The skull of the barracuda (genus: Sphyraena) with bones identified with colors.

Figure 4. The skull of the moray eel, Gymnothorax, in 3 views. Colors added as homologs to tetrapod skull bones. The nares exit is above the eyes.

Figure 5. Skull of the electric eel (Electrophorus) distinct from the moray eel (Fig. 4) and European eel (Fig. 2).

References
Gregory WK 1933. Fish skulls. A study of the evolution of natural mechanisms. The American Philosophical Society 23(2). Reprinted 1959, Eric Lundberg, Laurel FL, Noble offset printers, Inc. New York
Linnaeus C 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.

wiki/European_eel

Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2019/06/20/the-european-eel-is-a-barracuda-sister/

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