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Marramà G, Villalobos‐Segura E, Zorzin R, Kriwet J, Carnevale G. The evolutionary origin of the durophagous pelagic stingray ecomorph. PALAEONTOLOGY 2023; 66:pala.12669. [PMID: 37533696 PMCID: PMC7614867 DOI: 10.1111/pala.12669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Studies of the origin of evolutionary novelties (novel traits, feeding modes, behaviours, ecological niches, etc.) have considered a number of taxa experimenting with new body plans, allowing them to occupy new habitats and exploit new trophic resources. In the marine realm, colonization of pelagic environments by marine fishes occurred recurrently through time. Stingrays (Myliobatiformes) are a diverse clade of batoid fishes commonly known to possess venomous tail stings. Current hypotheses suggest that stingrays experimented with a transition from a benthic to a pelagic/benthopelagic habitat coupled with a transition from a non-durophagous diet to extreme durophagy. However, there is no study detailing macroevolutionary patterns to understand how and when habitat shift and feeding specialization arose along their evolutionary history. A new exquisitely preserved fossil stingray from the Eocene Konservat-Lagerstätte of Bolca (Italy) exhibits a unique mosaic of plesiomorphic features of the rajobenthic ecomorph, and derived traits of aquilopelagic taxa, that helps to clarify the evolutionary origin of durophagy and pelagic lifestyle in stingrays. A scenario of early evolution of the aquilopelagic ecomorph is proposed based on new data, and the possible adaptive meaning of the observed evolutionary changes is discussed. The body plan of †Dasyomyliobatis thomyorkei gen. et sp. nov. is intermediate between the rajobenthic and more derived aquilopelagic stingrays, supporting its stem phylogenetic position and the hypothesis that the aquilopelagic body plan arose in association with the evolution of durophagy and pelagic lifestyle from a benthic, soft-prey feeder ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Marramà
- Dipartimento di Scienze della TerraUniversità degli Studi di TorinoVia Valperga Caluso 3510125TurinItaly
| | | | - Roberto Zorzin
- Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di VeronaLungadige Porta Vittoria 937129VeronaItaly
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- Department of PalaeontologyUniversity of ViennaJosef‐Holaubek‐Platz 21090ViennaAustria
| | - Giorgio Carnevale
- Dipartimento di Scienze della TerraUniversità degli Studi di TorinoVia Valperga Caluso 3510125TurinItaly
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Amemiya C. Genome reveals how the skate got its wings. Nature 2023; 616:440-441. [PMID: 37045951 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-00192-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
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da Silva JPCB, Vaz DFB. Morphology and phylogenetic significance of the pelvic articular region in elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes). Cladistics 2023; 39:155-197. [PMID: 36856203 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The morphology of paired fins is commonly overlooked in morphological studies, particularly the pelvic girdle and fins. Consequently, previous phylogenetic studies incorporating morphological data used few skeletal characters from this complex. In this paper, the phylogenetic significance of pelvic articular characters for elasmobranchs is discussed in light of the morphological variation observed in 130 species, the most comprehensive study exploring the morphology of the pelvic girdle done so far. The 10 morphological characters proposed herein for the pelvic articulation were incorporated into a molecular matrix of NADH2 sequences and submitted to an analysis of maximum parsimony employing extended implied weighting. The most stable tree was selected based on the distortion coefficients, SPR distances (subtree pruning and regrafting) and fit values. Some of the striking synapomorphies recovered within elasmobranchs include the presence of an articular surface for the first enlarged pelvic radial supporting Elasmobranchii and the pelvic articular region for the basipterygium extending from the posterolatral margin of the pelvic girdle over its lateral surface in Echinorhinus + Hexanchiformes. Additionally, the proposed characters and their distributions are discussed considering the relationships recovered and also compared with previous morphological and molecular phylogenetic hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Paulo C B da Silva
- Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Castelo Branco, João Pessoa, 58051-900, Brazil
| | - Diego F B Vaz
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02143, USA.,Biorepository Collaboratorium Guam EPSCoR, Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, 303 University Dr, UOG Station, Mangilao, GU, 96923, USA
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A Bioinspired Cownose Ray Robot for Seabed Exploration. Biomimetics (Basel) 2023; 8:biomimetics8010030. [PMID: 36648816 PMCID: PMC9844324 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics8010030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
This article presents the design and the experimental tests of a bioinspired robot mimicking the cownose ray. These fish swim by moving their large and flat pectoral fins, creating a wave that pushes backward the surrounding water so that the fish is propelled forward due to momentum conservation. The robot inspired by these animals has a rigid central body, housing motors, batteries, and electronics, and flexible pectoral fins made of silicone rubber. Each of them is actuated by a servomotor driving a link inside the leading edge, and the traveling wave is reproduced thanks to the flexibility of the fin itself. In addition to the pectoral fins, two small rigid caudal fins are present to improve the robot's maneuverability. The robot has been designed, built, and tested underwater, and the experiments have shown that the locomotion principle is valid and that the robot is able to swim forward, perform left and right turns, and do floating or diving maneuvers.
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Cahill BV, DeGroot BC, Brewster LR, Lombardo SM, Bangley CW, Ogburn MB, Ajemian MJ. Visitation patterns of two ray mesopredators at shellfish aquaculture leases in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285390. [PMID: 37141240 PMCID: PMC10159191 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The Indian River Lagoon is a primary location of field-based "grow-out" for bivalve shellfish aquaculture along Florida's Atlantic coast. Grow-out locations have substantially higher clam densities than surrounding ambient sediment, potentially attracting mollusk predators to the area. Inspired by clammer reports of damaged grow-out gear, we used passive acoustic telemetry to examine the potential interactions between two highly mobile invertivores-whitespotted eagle rays (Aetobatus narinari) and cownose rays (Rhinoptera spp.)-and two clam lease sites in Sebastian, FL and compared these to nearby reference sites (Saint Sebastian River mouth, Sebastian Inlet) from 01 June 2017 to 31 May 2019. Clam lease detections accounted for 11.3% and 5.6% of total detections within the study period, for cownose and whitespotted eagle rays, respectively. Overall, the inlet sites logged the highest proportion of detections for whitespotted eagle rays (85.6%), while cownose rays (11.1%) did not use the inlet region extensively. However, both species had significantly more detections at the inlet receivers during the day, and on the lagoon receivers during the night. Both species exhibited long duration visits (> 17.1 min) to clam lease sites, with the longest visit being 387.5 min. These visit durations did not vary substantially between species, although there was individual variability. Based on generalized additive mixed models, longer visits were observed around 1000 and 1800 h for cownose and whitespotted eagle rays, respectively. Since 84% of all visits were from whitespotted eagle rays and these longer visits were significantly longer at night, this information suggests that observed interactions with the clam leases are potentially underestimated, given most clamming operations occur during daytime (i.e., morning). These results justify the need for continued monitoring of mobile invertivores in the region, including additional experimentation to assess behaviors (e.g., foraging) exhibited at the clam lease sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianna V Cahill
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, United States of America
| | - Breanna C DeGroot
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, United States of America
| | - Lauran R Brewster
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, United States of America
- School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Steven M Lombardo
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, United States of America
- Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Charles W Bangley
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, United States of America
- Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Matthew B Ogburn
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Matthew J Ajemian
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, United States of America
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Zhang CW, Zou W, Yu HC, Hao XP, Li G, Li T, Yang W, Wu ZL, Zheng Q. Manta Ray Inspired Soft Robot Fish with Tough Hydrogels as Structural Elements. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:52430-52439. [PMID: 36351752 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c17009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The design of soft robots capable of navigation underwater has received tremendous research interest due to the robots' versatile applications in marine explorations. Inspired by marine animals such as jellyfish, scientists have developed various soft robotic fishes by using elastomers as the major material. However, elastomers have a hydrophobic network without embedded water, which is different from the gel-state body of the prototypes and results in high contrast to the surrounding environment and thus poor acoustic stealth. Here, we demonstrate a manta ray-inspired soft robot fish with tailored swimming motions by using tough and stiff hydrogels as the structural elements, as well as a dielectric elastomer as the actuating unit. The switching between actuated and relaxed states of this unit under wired power leads to the flapping of the pectoral fins and swimming of the gel fish. This robot fish has good stability and swims with a fast speed (∼10 cm/s) in freshwater and seawater over a wide temperature range (4-50 °C). The high water content (i.e., ∼70 wt %) of the robot fish affords good optical and acoustic stealth properties under water. The excellent mechanical properties of the gels also enable easy integration of other functional units/systems with the robot fish. As proof-of-concept examples, a temperature sensing system and a soft gripper are assembled, allowing the robot fish to monitor the local temperature, raise warning signals by lighting, and grab and transport an object on demand. Such a robot fish should find applications in environmental detection and execution tasks under water. This work should also be informative for the design of other soft actuators and robots with tough hydrogels as the building blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Wei Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Weifeng Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Hai Chao Yu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Xing Peng Hao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Guorui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Tiefeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
- Center for X-Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Wei Yang
- Center for X-Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Zi Liang Wu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Qiang Zheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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Evolutionary trends of the conserved neurocranium shape in angel sharks (Squatiniformes, Elasmobranchii). Sci Rep 2020; 10:12582. [PMID: 32724124 PMCID: PMC7387474 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69525-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Elasmobranchii (i.e., sharks, skates, and rays) forms one of the most diverse groups of marine predators. With a fossil record extending back into the Devonian, several modifications in their body plan illustrate their body shape diversity through time. The angel sharks, whose fossil record dates back to the Late Jurassic, some 160 Ma, have a dorsoventrally flattened body, similar to skates and rays. Fossil skeletons of this group show that the overall morphology was well established earlier in its history. By examining the skull shape of well-preserved fossil material compared to extant angel sharks using geometric morphometric methods, within a phylogenetic framework, we were able to determine the conservative skull shape among angel sharks with a high degree of integration. The morphospace occupation of extant angel sharks is rather restricted, with extensive overlap. Most of the differences in skull shape are related to their geographic distribution patterns. We found higher levels of disparity in extinct forms, but lower ones in extant species. Since angel sharks display a highly specialized prey capture behaviour, we suggest that the morphological integration and biogeographic processes are the main drivers of their diversity, which might limit their capacity to display higher disparities since their origin.
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A bizarre Eocene dasyatoid batomorph (Elasmobranchii, Myliobatiformes) from the Bolca Lagerstätte (Italy) reveals a new, extinct body plan for stingrays. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14087. [PMID: 31575915 PMCID: PMC6773687 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50544-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last few years, the detailed revision of the Eocene cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes) from the Bolca Lagerstätte (Italy) has provided new insights into the fish biodiversity of the western Tethys. The morphological analysis of three previously undescribed specimens from the Pesciara deposit of Bolca revealed the existence of a new stingray taxon, †Lessiniabatis aenigmatica gen. et sp. nov., which is unique among the myliobatiform batoids in having the following unique combination of characters: low number of vertebrae posterior to the pelvic girdle (65–68); thoracolumbar synarcual extending backward beyond the pelvic girdle; tail extremely short not protruding from the posterior edge of the pectoral disc; radials proximally fused to each other; pelvic girdle extremely small and strongly arched; dorsal and caudal fins absent; tail stings and cartilaginous tail rod absent; and teeth of dasyatoid morphology with smooth enameloid surface. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that †Lessiniabatis gen. nov. is deeply nested within the benthic stingrays (Dasyatoidea) representing the sister to all dasyatids and potamotrygonids. Its unique anatomy clearly reveals the existence of a new hitherto unknown body plan experimented by benthic stingrays, whose evolution can be possibly linked to the adaptive fish radiation in the aftermath of the end-Cretaceous extinction.
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Marramà G, Carnevale G, Naylor GJP, Kriwet J. Mosaic of plesiomorphic and derived characters in an Eocene myliobatiform batomorph (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from Italy defines a new, basal body plan in pelagic stingrays. ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS 2019; 5:13. [PMID: 31057944 PMCID: PMC6485097 DOI: 10.1186/s40851-019-0128-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND End-Cretaceous niche-filling by benthic Mesozoic survivors resulted in a prominent increase of durophagous fish families, resulting in the appearance of the earliest representatives of several extant fish lineages, including the pelagic durophagous stingrays, a monophyletic clade of myliobatiform batoids that is characterized by a derived swimming mode and feeding habits. Although the earliest members appeared in the Late Cretaceous, most of the crown genera date back to the Eocene. RESULTS In this study, we re-examine the anatomy of the Eocene eagle ray Promyliobatis gazolai (de Zigno), represented by two nearly complete and articulated specimens from the world-famous Ypresian Konservat-Lagerstätte of Bolca, in detail. This taxon exhibits a mosaic of plesiomorphic and derived characters (e.g. tail sting displaced posteriorly on the tail, at about 50-60% of tail length; pectoral fins joining in front of the head; anterior and posterior pectoral fin margins nearly straight; compagibus laminam absent; single, unfragmented mesopterygium) that clearly define a new body plan within the pelagic durophagous stingrays. CONCLUSIONS The significant morphological differences between Promyliobatis and extant representatives of Myliobatidae, Aetobatidae, Rhinopteridae, and Mobulidae, support its placement as separate stem group member. The phylogenetic placement of Promyliobatis, based on skeletal and dental characters, strongly supports its basal position within pelagic stingrays. However, its position within the Myliobatiformes becomes unstable when stingray taxa known by fossil teeth only are included. A comparative analysis of the skeletal and tooth morphologies, as well as of the evolutionary trends of pelagic stingrays is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Marramà
- 1Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Giorgio Carnevale
- 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy
| | - Gavin J P Naylor
- 3Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, 32611 USA
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- 1Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
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Swenson JD, Klomp J, Fisher RA, Crow KD. How the Devil Ray Got Its Horns: The Evolution and Development of Cephalic Lobes in Myliobatid Stingrays (Batoidea: Myliobatidae). Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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