Ontogeny of the jaw and maxillary barbel musculature in the armoured catfish families Loricariidae and Callichthyidae (Loricarioidea,Siluriformes), with a discussion on muscle homologies

The neotropical loricarioid catfishes include six families, the most species‐rich of which are the Callichthyidae and the Loricariidae. Loricariidae (suckermouth armoured catfishes) have a highly specialized head morphology, including an exceptionally large number of muscles derived from the adductor mandibulae complex and the adductor arcus palatini. Terminology of these muscles varies among the literature, and no data exist on their ontogenetic origin. A detailed examination of the ontogeny of both a callichthyid and a loricariid representative now reveals the identity of the jaw and maxillary barbel musculature, and supports new hypotheses concerning homologies. The adductor mandibulae muscle itself is homologous to the A1‐OST and A3′ of basal catfishes, and the A3′ has given rise to the newly evolved loricariid retractor veli as well. The A2 and A3″ have resulted in the retractor tentaculi of Callichthyidae and the retractor premaxillae of Loricariidae. Thus, these two muscles are shown to be homologous. In Loricariidae, the extensor tentaculi consists of two separate muscles inserting on the autopalatine, and evidence is given on the evolutionary origin of the loricariid levator tentaculi (previously and erroneously known as retractor tentaculi) from the extensor tentaculi, and not the adductor mandibulae complex. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155 , 76–96.