Ecomorphology off an effective predatory deep-sea-fish relatives: really does trophic expertise drive hyperspeciation?
Two of the main vehicle operators from speciation certainly aquatic vertebrates was physical separation (e.grams., lakes and you can channels) and you can small-niche availableness (age.grams., warm reefs). Both in relationship, the new mesopelagic website name of one’s open sea, World’s 2nd largest cumulative environment (behind only the bathypelagic website name), seems retardant. Ocean flow tends to make isolation unusual to the one another modern and you can geological day/area scales, therefore the shortage of substrate precludes steady small-niches. Paradoxically, certain pelagic taxa have demostrated a lot higher-than-expected kinds fullness towards the regional scales. A prime example is the dragonfish nearest and dearest Stomiidae, probably the most speciose family of mesopelagic fishes, due mainly towards the subfamily Melanostomiinae (scaleless black colored dragonfishes), which contributes 222 of your 320 revealed species. read more