Morphological description and comparison of a growth series of Potamotrygon falkneri from South America
- Author(s)
- Jürgen Kriwet, Rica Stepanek
- Abstract
The South American freshwater stingray family Potamotrygonidae (Neoselachii; Chondrichthyes) consists of four well-established genera: Heliotrygon, Plesiotrygon, Potamotrygon and Paratrygon comprising numerous species of uncertain taxonomic status. The Potamotrygon falkneri-castexi-menchacai complex recently has been re-analysed and has been considered valid as a single species, Potamotrygon falkneri. Here, we studied and compared the morphology of P. falkneri from different growth stages (from juvenile to adult). Specimens were dissected and larder beetles were subsequently used for cleaning the skeleton from remains of soft-tissues. The neurocranium, the synarcuale and complete specimens were measured to obtain additional information about the development and growth of this species. Data were transformed into percentage of disc width (% DW) to allow direct comparisons with other stingrays in previous and prospective studies. Furthermore, counts of fin rays and vertebrae were conducted based on radiographs. Finally skeletal structures were analysed in detail and comparatively described. The examination of growth series or stages of a single species allow to estimate ontogenetic implications of similarities and provide information about the phylogenetic signal of characters.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Palaeontology
- No. of pages
- 96
- Publication date
- 2012
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 105118 Palaeontology
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/fec48e0a-178c-4c29-9697-f7f7f81a9310