Figure - available from: Environmental Biology of Fishes
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
An example in S. maculatus of maximum gape (MG), intertooth distance at 100% gape of d5 (IDD), and length between the bases of most posterior and anterior teeth which was divided into ten increments (L)
Source publication
Fitness is in part determined by the success of prey capture, often achieved in marine piscivores using teeth to capture and process prey. In ram feeding piscivores, a pattern of monognathic heterodonty has been observed where tooth size either increases posteriorly (Scomberomorus maculatus), or anteriorly (Carcharhinus limbatus), with exceptions s...
Similar publications
Acanthodians may represent a paraphyletic assemblage of stem chondrichthyans, stem osteichthyans, stem gnathostomes, or some combination of the three. One of the difficulties in determining the phylogenetic affinities of this group of mostly small, spiny fishes is that several subgroups of acanthodians are represented by relatively little informati...
Citations
... Gut tissue 29.20 11.64 6.31 6.75 −0.51 6.18 , 1998). It is therefore reasonable to argue that from stage 3 to 4, the ballan wrasse larvae change from feeding uniquely on pelagic zooplankton to being able to feed on invertebrates living on kelp and rocks (Carr & Motta, 2020). At the same time, the pharyngal teeth become blunter, eventually taking a more molar form in adults. ...
... The intestine occupied the largest percentage volume (60%-80%) of the digestive system, developing-from stage 2 onwards-from an incipient gut into a segmented gut, divided into a proximal midgut with a bulbus of increased lumen diameter, a middle and distal midgut, and finallyseparated by a valve-the hindgut. Elongation of the digestive tractalong with differentiation of the segments, cranial ossification, and the appearance of teeth-implies the need for a rigid skull and teeth when ballan wrasse, in its natural habitat, transitions into feeding on invertebrates living on kelp and rocks (Carr & Motta, 2020). hormone, has been demonstrated to play a key role in regulating the motility and food passage rates in the Ballan wrasse intestine (Le, Lie, et al., 2019). ...
We have described six developmental stages for the ballan wrasse, from the first feeding until the juvenile stage, supported by specific descriptions of cranial ossification, maturation of the digestive tract, and growth‐correlated stages. The initial formation and development of bones are closely linked to the functional anatomical structures required for the mechanics of its feeding behavior and ingestion, particularly the jaws and branchial regions involved in opening the mouth and capturing food particles. The overall ontogeny of the cranial structure compares to that of other teleosts. The cranial ossification of the ballan wrasse skull and the development of its dentary apparatus—first pharyngal teeth and later oral teeth—is linked to the development of the digestive system and to their feeding habits, from preying on zooplankton to feeding on crustaceans and invertebrates on rocks and other substrates. As ballan wrasse is a nibbler, eating small meals, the digestive tract is short compared to the length of the fish; there is no stomach or peptic digestion and also no distinctive bulbus and pyloric ceca. The liver and exocrine pancreas and their outlets terminating in the lumen of the most anterior part of the intestine are important in the digestive process and develop with a larger volume than that in gastric teleosts, relative to the digestive system. We established six developmental stages for ballan wrasse from first feeding until the juvenile stage. Cranial ossification of the skull and development of the dentary apparatus are linked to the development of digestive system and to feeding habits. The digestive tract is short compared to the length of the fish and does not develop a functional bulbus, a stomach, or peptic digestion. The liver and pancreas display a larger relative volume of the digestive system than in gastric teleosts.
... Thus, a vast majority of studies have focused on the morphology of the teeth and the oral jaws. These studies have identified several key traits believed to affect prey capture, with oral gape, bite force, bite velocity, tooth shape, size, and arrangement regarded as major factors influencing feeding performance ( Porter and Motta 2004 ;Habegger et al. 2011 ;Ferguson et al. 2015 ;Bellwood 2017 , 2019b ;Carr and Motta 2020 ;. Observations on feeding performance in piscivorous fishes routinely suggest a period of prey manipulation following capture ( Reimchen 1991 ;Juanes and Conover 1994 ;Grubich et al. 2008 ). ...
Teeth facilitate the acquisition and processing of food in most vertebrates. However, relatively little is known about the functions of the diverse tooth morphologies observed in fishes. Piscivorous fishes (fish-eating fish) are crucial in shaping community structure and rely on their oral teeth to capture and/or process prey. However, how teeth are utilised in capturing and/or processing prey remains unclear. Most studies have determined the function of teeth by assessing morphological traits. The behaviour during feeding however, is seldom quantified. Here, we describe the function of teeth within piscivorous fishes by considering how morphological and behavioural traits interact during prey capture and processing. This was achieved through aquarium-based performance experiments, where prey fish were fed to 12 species of piscivorous fishes. Building on techniques in forensic odontology, we incorporate a novel approach to quantify and categorise bite damage on prey fish that were extracted from piscivore stomachs immediately after being ingested. We then assess the significance of morphological and behavioural traits in determining the extent and severity of damage inflicted on prey fish. Results show that engulfing piscivores capture their prey whole and head-first. Grabbing piscivores capture prey tail-first using their teeth, process them using multiple headshakes and bites, before spitting them out, and then re-capturing prey head-first for ingestion. Prey from engulfers sustained minimal damage, whereas prey from grabbers sustained significant damage to the epaxial musculature. Within grabbers, headshakes were significantly associated with more severe damage categories. Headshaking behaviour damages the locomotive muscles of prey, presumably to prevent escape. Compared to non-pharyngognaths, pharyngognath piscivores inflict significantly greater damage to prey. Overall, when present, oral jaw teeth appear to be crucial for both prey capture and processing (immobilisation) in piscivorous fishes.
... Bony fishes usually have two sets of dentitions, one on their oral jaws and a second, often functionally divergent set, on their pharyngeal jaws. Each has its own presumed functional role; oral jaws grab prey, and pharyngeal jaws process and crush food [13][14][15][16][17]. We investigate tooth replacement in the Pacific lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus)-an easily fished and housed marine piscivore that requires a sharp and full dentition to successfully capture, manipulate and process prey. ...
Tooth replacement rates of polyphyodont cartilaginous and bony fishes are hard to determine because of a lack of obvious patterning and maintaining specimens long enough to observe replacement. Pulse-chase is a fluorescent technique that differentially colours developing mineralized tissue. We present in situ tooth replacement rate and position data for the oral and pharyngeal detentions of Ophiodon elongatus (Pacific lingcod). We assessed over 10 000 teeth, in 20 fish, and found a daily replacement rate of about two teeth (3.6% of the dentition). The average tooth is in the dental battery for 27 days. The replacement was higher in the lower pharyngeal jaw (LPJ). We found no difference between replacement rates of feeding and non-feeding fish, suggesting feeding was not a driver of tooth replacement. Lingcod teeth have both a size and location fate; smaller teeth at one spot will not grow into larger teeth, even if a large tooth nearby is lost. We also found increased rates of replacement at the posterior of the LPJ relative to the anterior. We propose that lingcod teeth do not migrate in the jaw as they develop; their teeth are fated in size and location, erupting in their functional position.
Coronodon includes species of basal toothed mysticetes that were initially interpreted as engaging in raptorial feeding and dental filtration. Here, the feeding of this extinct genus is revisited based on recently described specimens and species. Associations between tooth position and types of dental wear were tested, and evidence for feeding behaviors was tabulated using scores from 14 craniodental characters, each mapped onto five alternate phylogenetic hypotheses. Individual character states were interpreted as being supportive, neutral, or contradictory evidence to raptorial feeding, suction feeding, baleen filtration, or dental filtration. Wear in Coronodon was found to be significantly more concentrated on mesial teeth, mesial cusps, higher cusps, and upper teeth. Upper teeth also had mesial cusps more worn than distal cusps, inconsistent with predictions of the dental filtration hypothesis. Wear in notches was correlated with wear on neighboring cusps, and side wear was concentrated on occlusal sides, suggesting both were caused by raptorial feeding. These observations raise the possibility that raptorial feeding was the primary, and maybe even the only, mode of feeding for Coronodon. The feeding scores of reconstructed ancestors leading to crown mysticetes typically display a stepwise decrease in raptorial feeding, a stepwise increase in baleen filtration, and, occasionally, an intermediate but weakly supported stage of dental filtration. For most toothed mysticetes, there is little evidence for or against suction feeding. The method we have developed for studying the origin of baleen can be expanded and allows for multiple hypotheses to be tested without undue emphasis on any particular taxon or set of characters.