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A single micropyle in the eggs of the most basal living actinopterygian fish, Polypterus (Actinopterygii, Polypteriformes)
Author(s) -
Bartsch P.,
Britz R.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb04850.x
Subject(s) - actinopterygii , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , anatomy , synapomorphy , zoology , fishery , clade , biochemistry , gene , phylogenetic tree
Breeding of Polypterus , the most basal living actinopterygian, provided the opportunity to study the surface structure of its eggs with SEM for the first time. The investigation revealed the previously overlooked presence of a micropyle at the animal egg pole, thus rejecting recent textbook belief that the eggs of Polypterus slack a micropyle. Comparison with data for other gnathostomes demonstrates that eggs with a micropyle are a further synapomorphy for Actinopterygii and confirm membership of the Cladistia in that group.