1 A digital dissection of two teleost fishes: comparative 2 functional anatomy of the cranial musculoskeletal 3 system in pike (Esox lucius) and eel (Anguilla anguilla) 4 Robert Brocklehurst1,2*, Laura Porro2,3, Anthony Herrel4, Dominique 5 Adriaens5, Emily Rayfield2 6 1. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, 7 Manchester, UK 8 2. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, 9 Bristol, BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom 10 3. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, 11 London, WC1E 6BT 12 4. Département Adaptions du Vivant, UMR 7178, C.N.R.S./M.N.H.N., Paris, France 13 5. Department of Biology, Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, Ghent University, Gent, 14 Belgium 15 *corresponding author (
[email protected]) Running header: Digital Dissection of Esox and Anguilla 16 17 Abstract 18 Advances in X-ray computed tomography (CT) have led to a rise in the use of non-destructive imaging 19 methods in comparative anatomy. Among these is contrast-enhanced CT scanning, which employs 20 chemical stains to visualize soft tissues. Specimens may then be “digitally dissected”, producing 21 detailed, three-dimensional digital reconstructions of the soft- and hard-tissue anatomy, allowing 22 examination of anatomical structures in situ and making accurate measurements (lengths, volumes, 23 etc.). Here we apply this technique to two species of teleost fish, providing the one of the first 24 comprehensive three-dimensional description of teleost cranial soft tissue and quantifying 25 differences in muscle anatomy that may be related to differences in feeding ecology.