Divergent morphologies with convergent performance in the mandible of pelagiarian fishes

Abstract

Mandibles represent a key evolutionary innovation that enabled jawed vertebrates to adapt and diversify in response to a range of food sources. Using a phylogenetic comparative approach, we explore the phenotypic disparity and mechanical properties of the lower jaw in Pelagiaria, a morphologically diverse but relatively small clade of open-ocean fishes which are hypothesized to have radiated near the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction event. We found that body elongation and diet are not significantly correlated with jaw shape, but that habitat depth and tooth type are. Mechanical advantage (MA) is significantly correlated with mandible shape, with jaw-closing MA being most strongly correlated. Pelagiarian jaw shapes fall broadly into six morphotypes, of which two show significantly higher closing MA than other groups, despite differing substantially in shape. The high morphological disparity of pelagiarian mandible shape was established very early in their evolutionary history, and high levels of disparity have been maintained over tens of millions of years; this is consistent with the hypothesis that Pelagiaria represents an ancient adaptive radiation. Our results demonstrate both the mechanical and morphological diversity of the pelagiarian mandible and highlight the crucial role that morphological diversification has played in the trophic radiation of this clade.