The imagery on this page is the basis for a paper entitled Morphological description of the extinct North American Sucker Moxostoma lacerum (Ostariophysi, Catostomidae), based on
high-resolution X-ray computed tomography, by W.L. Fink and J.H. Humphries (2010, Copeia 2010:5-13). The abstract is as follows:
Moxostoma lacerum was the first member of the North American ichthyofauna to be documented as extinct. The unique oral morphology of the species has been of interest, as has its unusual diet of small snails. Because of the rarity of specimens, and the disarticulated condition of available skeletons, we take this opportunity to describe the oral skeletal morphology, using the HRXCT technology to reconstruct the skeleton digitally. We find that the premaxillary bones lie posteromedial to the maxillae and that maxilla shape is asymmetrical; it is likely that the animal sucked snails from their shells while holding the shells with a keratinized mandibular shelf.
Additional annotated movies and images are archived in permanent long term storage at:
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Additional annotated movies and images are archived in permanent long term storage at:
Deep Blue