The family Characidae is the most diverse among Neotropical fishes. Systematics of this
family are mainly based on pre-cladistic papers, and only recently a phylogenetic hypothesis …

The family Characidae, including more than 1000 species, lacks a phylogenetic diagnosis,
with many of its genera currently considered as incertae sedis. The aims of the present study …

In contrast to biomineralization phenomena, that are among the most widely studied topics
in modern material and earth science and biomedicine, much less is systematized on …

The ocular skeleton, composed of the scleral cartilage and scleral ossicles, is present in
many vertebrates. The morphology of the scleral cartilage and ossicles varies within different …

The higher chordate subgroup includes all the vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds,
and mammals. All of them are found in marine environments and coastal regions. Probably …

Sturgeons of the family Acipenseridae comprise 25 extant species, making it the most
species-rich extant family of basal (ie, nonteleostean) actinopterygians. Because of their …

Nocturnality is widespread among extant mammals and often considered the ancestral
behavioural pattern for all mammals. However, mammals are nested within a larger clade …

Eyes are expected to be adapted to the physical characteristics of the visual environment,
yet previous analyses failed to corroborate this observation. We demonstrate that nocturnal …

A new scientific view of evolution is emerging—one that challenges and expands our
understanding of how evolution works. Recent research demonstrates that organisms differ …

The concepts of platytrabia/platybasia and tropibasia/tropitrabia in gnathostomes are
reviewed. The terms platytrabia and tropitrabia refer to developmental states of the …