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The Feeding Apparatus in four Pacific Tube Blennies (Te/eos fei: Chaenopsidae):
Author(s) -
Kotrschal Kurt,
Lindquist David G.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1986.tb00161.x
Subject(s) - sympatric speciation , biology , adaptation (eye) , predation , ecology , divergence (linguistics) , habitat , fish <actinopterygii> , feeding behavior , zoology , fishery , philosophy , linguistics , neuroscience
. Tube blennies ( Chaenopsidae ) have the largest relative mouth size compared with other blennioids. Their peculiar oral jaw apparatus may be interpreted as adaptation towards opportunistic feeding, making a wide spectrum of prey types and sizes accessible for these “hemisessile” fishes. Three sympatric species of Gulf of California Acanthemblemaria show different, though overlapping habitat and microhabitat utilization, but are nearly identical in feeding. Accordingly, sizes and shapes of the oral jaw apparati are very similar in the species under consideration. Possible reasons for this apparent lack of ecomorphological divergence are discussed.