An evaluation of a double‐tailed deformity in a coral‐reef surgeonfish Acanthurus nigrofuscus (Acanthuridae) using micro‐computed tomography |
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| Authors: | C H R Goatley S Wroe S B Tebbett D R Bellwood |
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| Institution: | 1. Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research (FEAR) Lab and Palaeoscience Research Centre, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia;2. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
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| Abstract: | X‐ray micro‐computed tomography scans were used to examine the caudal‐fin structure of an unusual double‐tailed deformity in an adult brown surgeonfish Acanthurus nigrofuscus from the Great Barrier Reef. In both this case and in a similar double‐tailed deformity in a juvenile Tomini surgeonfish Ctenochaetus tominiensis from the Philippines, the caudal fin was duplicated along the dorsoventral axis. Detailed examination of the A. nigrofuscus specimen revealed that the deformity was associated with duplication and reflection of the hypural plates and the posterior vertebrae, yet the fish survived to adulthood, indicating that the effects of duplication on survival may be limited. |
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| Keywords: | caudal fin hypural Indo‐Pacific morphology reef fish |
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