Valenciennes, 1830 Otolith Morphology, Age, and Growth in the Aegean Sea (E. Mediterranean).

Otoliths are important structures for balance and hearing of fish and constitute a useful tool in fisheries science. This study provides, for the first time in the Mediterranean, information on the otolith morphometrics of , collected from the South Aegean Sea, and enriches the existing information on its age and growth by sex. The otolith shape variables examined showed a more circular to square otolith shape, related to the body size.

Increasing control over biomineralization in conodont evolution.

Vertebrates use the phosphate mineral apatite in their skeletons, which allowed them to develop tissues such as enamel, characterized by an outstanding combination of hardness and elasticity. It has been hypothesized that the evolution of the earliest vertebrate skeletal tissues, found in the teeth of the extinct group of conodonts, was driven by adaptation to dental function. We test this hypothesis quantitatively and demonstrate that the crystallographic order increased throughout the early evolution of conodont teeth in parallel with morphological adaptation to food processing.

Growth and feeding ecology of coniform conodonts.

Conodonts were the first vertebrates to develop mineralized dental tools, known as elements. Recent research suggests that conodonts were macrophagous predators and/or scavengers but we do not know how this feeding habit emerged in the earliest coniform conodonts, since most studies focus on the derived, 'complex' conodonts. Previous modelling of element position and mechanical properties indicate they were capable of food processing.