DIOGO, R. (2008). On the cephalic and pectoral girdle muscles of the deep-sea fish Alepocephalus rostratus, with comments on the functional morphology and phylogenetic relationships of the Alepocephaloidei (Teleostei). Animal Biology 58: 23-39.
Jan 1, 2008
The muscles of the cephalic region and pectoral girdle of Alepocephalus rostratus are described and compared with those of other alepocephaloid and non-alepocephaloid teleosts. In what concerns the configuration of these muscles, the alepocephaloid fishes examined in the present work exhibit a mix of mainly plesiomorphic features with a few derived features, such as the direct attachment of the adductor mandibulae to the maxilla, the anterior extension of the anterodorsal portion of the hypaxialis, the presence of an undivided arrector dorsalis, the absence of the protractor pectoralis, and the subdivision, in Alepocephalus rostratus, of the levator arcus palatini into two bundles. The functional and phylogenetic implications of these derived features are discussed.