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Fig. 4 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 4

From: Study of morphological variation of northern Neotropical Ariidae reveals conservatism despite macrohabitat transitions

Fig. 4

Skull shape changes from marine to freshwater as point illustrations with lines connecting landmarks (for your guidance see Fig. 2). a Procrustes mean shapes for marine, brackish, and freshwater ariids, and freshwater Doraops zuloagai. A common feature shared by freshwater ariids and the freshwater doradoid as compared to marine Ariidae is the very narrow mesethmoid. Within Ariidae when comparing marine with freshwater specimens the neurocranium elongates, becomes narrower and flatter. b Shape changes visualised by superimposition of mean shapes of, from left to right, marine–freshwater ariids, marine ariids–Doraops, and freshwater ariids–Doraops. Within Ariidae, the proportions of the anterior and posterior part of the neurocranium change to a longer and narrower frontal part and a smaller and flatter braincase. Doraops and freshwater ariids have about the same length, but exhibit an even narrower frontal part, and an even more distinct posterior part

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