3D morphology of pharyngeal dentition in barbin fishes (Pisces: Teleostei: Cyprinidae): Implications for taxonomy, phylogeny and palaeobiogeography

Abstract

Cyprinidae is the largest fish family in the world and one of the most widespread in freshwater and shows high endemism to the drainage systems, which they inhabite. Their distribution in water basins depends on freshwater connections and, therewith, reflects the palaeogeographic development as well as the history of the drainage systems of this area. Thus, the freshwater fishes are considered as a proper model for palaeo(bio)geographic and evolutionary studies. These studies can be possible only if the fossil remains are identified at species level. However, the recent comparative material as well as the methods for species level taxonomy of isolated bones and teeth of cyprinid fishes are limited. Here, I successfully provide a tool/methodology for species level identification of isolated pharyngeal teeth of barbine fishes by applying the analysis of the 3D morphology. By applying this methodology to isolated pharyngeal teeth of extant ten Capoeta species as well as to the fossil record of Capoeta, I recorded: - phylogenetic significance of pharyngeal tooth morphology and its insight into evolutionary scenario of the genus; - the evolution of Capoeta was possibly represented by a species-flock model in a huge unrecognized palaeolake system in the present-day Armenian Highland at 4Ma; - This method has great potential to disentangle the evolutionary history for other Barbini groups.