Evolutionary optimization of an anatomical suction cup: Lip collagen content and its correlation with flow and substrate in Neotropical suckermouth catfishes (Loricarioidei).

Abstract excerpt

In riverine ecosystems, downstream drag caused by fast-flowing water poses a significant challenge to rheophilic organisms. In neotropical rivers, many members of a diverse radiation of suckermouth catfishes (Loricarioidei) resist drag in part by using modified lips that form an oral suction cup composed of thick flesh. Histological composition and morphology of this cup are interspecifically highly variable....

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