Resource-based adaptive divergence in the freshwater fish Telmatherina from Lake Matano, Indonesia

Adaptive radiations are an important source of biodiversity, but resolving which ecological pressures seed these processes in natural systems remains difficult. Here the adaptive radiation among Telmatherina, a genus of freshwater fish endemic to an ancient lake in central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was examined to determine its causal root. We demonstrate that all Telmatherina in this lake can be categorized into three lineages each possessing specialized skull shapes and pharyngeal jaw bones allowing them to exploit different resources. These data demonstrate a natural example of how resource partitioning has likely initiated adaptive radiation in a resource limited environment.