Neotropical freshwater fishes (NFFs) constitute the most diverse continental vertebrate fauna
on Earth, with more than 6,200 named species compressed into an aquatic footprint< 0.5 …

Owing to their taxonomic, phenotypic, ecological and behavioural diversity and propensity
for explosive diversification, the assemblages of cichlid fish in the East African Great Lakes …

Background Fish classifications, as those of most other taxonomic groups, are being
transformed drastically as new molecular phylogenies provide support for natural groups …

Our understanding of phylogenetic relationships among bony fishes has been transformed
by analysis of a small number of genes, but uncertainty remains around critical nodes …

Background Partitioning involves estimating independent models of molecular evolution for
different subsets of sites in a sequence alignment, and has been shown to improve …

Ray-finned fishes make up half of all living vertebrate species. Nearly all ray-finned fishes
are teleosts, which include most commercially important fish species, several model …

The tree of life of fishes is in a state of flux because we still lack a comprehensive phylogeny
that includes all major groups. The situation is most critical for a large clade of spiny-finned …

Vertebrate vision is accomplished through light-sensitive photopigments consisting of an
opsin protein bound to a chromophore. In dim light, vertebrates generally rely on a single …

Spiny-rayed fishes, or acanthomorphs, comprise nearly one-third of all living vertebrates.
Despite their dominant role in aquatic ecosystems, the evolutionary history and tempo of …

Otoliths in bony fishes play an important role in the senses of balance and hearing. Otolith
mass and shape are, among others, likely to be decisive factors influencing otolith motion …