Dissertation Research: Ontogeny and Anatomy of the Skeleton in Mooneyes and Goldeyes and the Systematics of Hiodontiform Fishes

0073066比米斯和希尔顿有超过24,000种活的鱼类，真骨鱼类包括超过一半的活脊椎动物。如此巨大的多样性为进化生物学的发现提供了绝佳的机会。然而，我们仍然缺乏很多关于硬骨鱼类解剖学的信息，并且对于硬骨鱼类的进化起源和多样化等基本问题还没有达成共识。为了解决这些问题，研究生埃里克希尔顿，在威廉比米斯博士的指导下，提出了一个两部分的研究。首先，他将详细描述（第一次）两个北美硬骨鱼被称为mooneyes和goldeyes（属Hiodon）的骨骼的基础上，广泛的一系列标本的地理（评估变异性）和个体发育（评估从少年到成年形式的发育变化）。月眼鱼和金眼鱼属于硬骨鱼类的早期进化辐射，也包括刀鱼、象鼻鱼和龙鱼等熟悉的物种。这一群被认为是在大约1.5亿年前从所有其他硬骨鱼中分离出来的，而月眼鱼和金眼鱼的骨骼从那时起基本上保持不变。因此，它们可以用来代表硬骨鱼演化研究中的早期硬骨鱼。第二，学生将使用新的解剖信息产生的研究进行广泛的分析硬骨鱼的发育。对三十多个活的和化石硬骨鱼物种的骨骼特征进行集中的比较调查将建立在对研究中使用的标本的第一手观察的基础上。重建的硬骨鱼进化多样化模式可以与其他研究人员（包括分子系统学家）开发的模式进行比较。最终，鱼类的形态学和分子数据可以被综合起来，从而对现存硬骨鱼类的起源和多样性做出可靠的解释。

0073066Bemis and HiltonWith over 24,000 living fish species, Teleostei includes over half of all living vertebrate animals. Such a large diversity offers outstanding chances for discoveries in evolutionary biology. However, we still lack much information about teleostean anatomy and there is little consensus about such basic questions as the evolutionary origin and diversification of teleosts. To address these issues, graduate student Eric Hilton, under the direction of Dr. William Bemis, proposes a two-part study. First, he will describe in detail (for the first time) the skeletons of two North American teleosts known as mooneyes and goldeyes (genus Hiodon) on the basis of extensive series of specimens both geographic (to assess variability) and ontogenetic (to assess developmental changes from juvenile to adult form). The mooneyes and goldeyes belong to an early evolutionary radiation of teleosts that also contains such familiar species as knife fishes, elephant nose fishes, and arowanas. This group is believed to have split from all other teleosts approximately 150 million years ago, and the skeleton of mooneyes and goldeyes has remained largely unchanged since this time. For this reason, they can be used to represent early teleosts in studies of teleostean evolution. Second, the student will use the new anatomical information generated by the study for a broad analysis of teleostean phylogeny. A focused comparative survey of skeletal characteristics in more than thirty living and fossil teleostean species will build upon the first-hand observations of specimens used in the study. The reconstructed patterns of teleostean evolutionary diversification can then be compared with patterns developed by other researchers, including molecular systematists. Ultimately the morphological and molecular data on fishes can be synthesized to yield a reliable account of the origins and diversity of living teleosts.