Morphological Diversification of Fish as a Consequence
of the Divergence of Ontogenetic Trajectories

M. V. Mina

Kol’tsov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 26, Moscow, 119991 Russia
E-mail: anzuz@online.ru

Received April 18, 2001

Abstract—The possibilities of the investigation of ontogenetic changes in the morphological features of fish
using multidimensional “ontogenetic channels,” within which individual ontogenetic trajectories run, are dem-
onstrated using African barbs (Barbus intermedius complex) as an example. The position of ontogenetic chan-
nels allows one to judge how the differences of adult individuals in morphological characters arise during devel-
opment and how their morphological diversity is formed.

Key words: ontogenetic channels, Barbus intermedius, principal components analysis, skull proportions, pop-
ulations, sympatric speciation.

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