Graphic: K. Le Verger et al. (2024)

Today’s goldfish is the result of over a thousand years of breeding. Selecting fish for traits such as vibrant colours has also changed the structure of its body and brain – and a study by the University of Zurich has now revealed that these changes have occurred in a way different from those in other domesticated animals. Domesticated goldfish (here the orange dots) differ in body shape from the original, wild fish (green dots) and closely related wild species (purple dots). Different breeds of goldfish vary above all in the shape and length of their fins.

K. Le Verger et al.: Goldfish phenomics reveals commonalities and a lack of universality in the domestication process for ornamentation. Evolution Letters (2024)