Increased superfetation precedes the evolution of advanced degrees of placentotrophy in viviparous fishes of the family Poeciliidae

Abstract

The causes and consequences of the evolution of placentotrophy (post-fertilization nutrition of developing embryos of viviparous organisms by means of a maternal placenta) in non-mammalian vertebrates are still not fully understood. In particular, in the fish family Poeciliidae there is an evolutionary link between placentotrophy and superfetation (ability of females to simultaneously bear embryos at distinct developmental stages), with no conclusive evidence for which of these two traits facilitates the evolution of more advanced degrees of the other. Using a robust phylogenetic comparative method based on Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models of adaptive evolution and data from 36 poeciliid species, we detected a clear causality pattern. The evolution of extensive placentotrophy has been facilitated by the preceding evolution of more simultaneous broods. Therefore, placentas became increasingly complex as an adaptive response to evolutionary increases in the degree of superfetation. This finding represents a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the factors that have shaped placental evolution in poeciliid fishes.