Reinventing the disc: a reminder to give credit to past giants.

Friedman et al. [1] redescribed a fossil species of sharksucker or remora, †Opisthomyzon glaronensis, first studied in some detail by Wettstein [2]. They ([1], p. 6) stated that (emphasis is ours) ‘The conclusion that †Opisthomyzon is a stem-group remora, combined with novel anatomical information arising from the discovery and preparation of additional specimens, provides first clues about the sequence of evolutionary changes that led to the assembly of the adhesion disc’. Friedman et al. [1], however, failed to cite and apparently did not consult Houy’s 1910 monograph [3], where extensive comments were made on the differences between the fossil and recent remora species and on the evolutionary changes that one must assume to have happened. Houy’s publication [3] was considered the ‘most comprehensive anatomical study of the adult sucking disc of remoras’ in Britz & Johnson’s [4] recent ontogenetic study, a paper that was cited 10 times by Friedman et al. [1]. Houy [3] studied the adult anatomy of the sucking disc in great detail and included not only its skeleton, but also the muscles, nerves and sense organs associated with it. In the context of his investigation, he commented on the significance of Wettstein’s fossil remora. A full citation of his remarks is provided here (translation and emphases are ours):