MCZ Lunchtime Seminar

The origin and evolution of neuroanatomical diversity in ray-finned fishes

Rodrigo T. Figueroa
Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellow
Stephanie Pierce Lab

Ray-finned fishes represent one of the most successful vertebrate groups with more than 35 thousand living species occupying a wide range of aquatic ecosystems and exhibiting a vast range of ecomorphological adaptations. Similarly, the brain morphology of ray-finned fishes is unique among vertebrates due to a myriad of unique neuroanatomical adaptations as well as showing morphological disparity not seen in other lineages. However, we still have a very limited understanding of the origins and ecomorphological diversity of ray-finned fish neuroanatomy from a systematic standpoint. My work focuses on filling these gaps by integrating information from exceptionally preserved fossils with detailed comparative anatomy of living ray-finned fishes. While fossils provide important insights on timing and ordering of origin of unique neuroanatomical adaptations a wide sample of living taxa provides an unprecedented opportunity for exploring patterns of neuroanatomical diversity in this major vertebrate lineage.