The absence of a pelagic larval stage and brood care has evolved very few times in coral reef fishes. Damselfishes, a widely represented group with more than 380 species, includes only three such species, the monotypic Acanthochromis polyacanthus, and the two Altrichthys species, Altrichthys azurelineatus and Altrichthys curatus. In a recent study, Cooper et al. provided a comprehensive phyloge...

This article explores the influence of local concepts of matrilineal kinship and descent through women in the construction of a modern Sufi silsila (an authorized ‘chain’ of spiritual and genealogical ancestry) in Sri Lanka. Makkattar Vappa, a popular Sufi shaykh in the Tamil-speaking eastern region of the island, asserts hereditary maulana (sayyid) status as a member of the Prophet’s household...

Starfish have been instrumental in many fields of biological and ecological research. Oocytes of Astropecten aranciacus, a common species native to the Mediterranean Sea and the East Atlantic, have long been used as an experimental model to study meiotic maturation, fertilization, intracellular Ca2+ signaling, and cell cycle controls. However, investigation of the underlying molecular mechanism...

Previous studies on two reef fish lacking a pelagic larval phase (Acanthochromis polyacanthus and Embiotoca jacksoni) revealed features that may be characteristic of their lifestyle: (1) low levels of gene flow, (2) frequent population bottlenecks, and (3) strong phylogeographic breaks, all within their over 1,000 km coastal geographic ranges. The present study tested the predictive nature of t...