Richard Cloutier

Associate Professor,
Université du Québec à Rimouski

Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie
E-mail: richard_cloutier@uqar.ca
Institution page
Personal page




Research

We study the skeletal and nervous development of fish in order to identify their modules (network of elements that act like relatively independent units) and patterning (order of formation of this elements) in order to solve the phylogeny of gnathostomes. We will a test our theoretical model of modularity in lampreys, chondrichthyes as well as bony fishes.

QCBS students

Previous students (since 2009)

France Charest

Ph.D.
(Start: 2009, End: 2016)
Devonian larval and juvenile fishes: an evo-devo perspective

Thomas Grünbaum

Ph.D.
(Start: 2004, End: 2010)
An integrative study of water velocity effects on salmonids

Olivier Larouche

Ph.D.
Other (co-)supervisor: Zelditch, Miriam L.
(Start: 2010, End: 2018)
Median and paired fin disparity and modularity in lower vertebrates

Cyrena Riley

Ph.D.
(Start: 2009, End: 2015)
Chondrogenesis and developmental patterning in chondrichthyans

margot angibaud

M.Sc.
(Start: 2017, End: 2019)
Skeletogenesis and variation of the regionalization pattern of the spine of black dogfish (Centroscyllium fabricii: Elasmobranchii).

Isabelle Béchard

M.Sc.
(Start: 2009, End: 2011)
Developmental patterns in Devonian lungfishes

France Charest

M.Sc.
(Start: 2005, End: 2009)
Fin modularity in fossil and living fishes

Marion Chevrinais

M.Sc.
(Start: 2012, End: 2012)
Trophic networking in Devonian lower vertebrate assemblages

Lemieux Cynthia

M.Sc.
(Start: 2015, End: 2015)
Position phylogénétique de Platycephalichthys par rapport à l'origine des tétrapodes.

François Grégoire

M.Sc.
(Start: 2014, End: 2018)
Variations dans la croissance du saumon atlantique de la rivière Matane sur plus de trois décennies

Laurent Houle

M.Sc.
(Start: 2018, End: 2019)
Intégration morphologique durant l'ontogénie du squelette crânien d'Ambystoma mexicanum

Émilie Lebel

M.Sc.
(Start: 2013, End: 2016)
Skeletal development of the black dogfish from the Gulf of St-Lawrence.

Émilie Lebel

M.Sc.
(Start: 2013, End: 2017)
Skeletogenesis of the black dogfish (Centroscyllium fabricii)

Michèle Leduc-Lapierre

M.Sc.
(Start: 2010, End: 2013)
Patterning of the spinal nerves in salmonids

Caroline Lehoux

M.Sc.
(Start: 2011, End: 2013)
Patterning and modularity of the sensory canal system in living and fossil fishes

Catherine Morel

M.Sc.
(Start: 2012, End: 2014)
Squelletogenesis of the marine lamprey

Roxane Noël

M.Sc.
(Start: 2015, End: 2018)
Description des nageoires pectorales du tatrapodomorphe Elpistostege watsoni.

Martin Pelletier

M.Sc.
(Start: 2007, End: 2010)
Mathematical modeling of larval fish locomotion

Daniel Potvin-Leduc

M.Sc.
(Start: 2009, End: 2016)
New Devonian chondrichthyans from the Middle Devonian of New York

Vincent Roy

M.Sc.
(Start: 2015, End: 2017)
Description de la colonne vertébrale du tétrapodomorphe Elpistostege watsoni.

Examples of species studied

Hippoglossus hippoglossus
Salvelinus alpinus
Salmoniformes
Teleostei
Salmonidae
Percina copelandi
Sarcopterygii
Nereis virens
Chondrichthyes
Bothriolepis canadensis
Latimeria chalumnae
Philornis downsi
Amblyraja radiata
Petromyzon marinus


Publications

65- A Late Devonian coelacanth reconfigures actinistian phylogeny, disparity, and evolutionary dynamics
Journal Article
Clement A M , Cloutier R , Lee M S Y , King B , Vanhaesebroucke O , Bradshaw C J A , Dutel H , Trinajstic K , Long J A ,
2024 Nature communications (Date Added: 2024-09-22)

64- Description of a tetrapod trackway from the early Carboniferous Bonaventure Formation of New Brunswick, Canada
Journal Article
Bateman L , Cloutier R , Larsson H C ,
2024 Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (Date Added: 2024-06-24)

63- Evolution of median fin patterning and modularity in living and fossil osteichthyans
Journal Article
Charest F , Mondéjar Fernández J , Grünbaum T , Cloutier R ,
2023 PLoS ONE (Date Added: 2023-03-31)

62- Ontogeny of Euphanerops longaevus from the Upper Devonian Miguasha Fossil–Fish–Lagerstätte and comparison with the skeletogenesis of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus
Journal Article
Chevrinais M , Morel C , Renaud C B , Cloutier R ,
2023 Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (Date Added: 2023-03-25)

61- Whole-body variational modularity in the zebrafish: An inside-out story of a model species
Journal Article
Vanhaesebroucke O , Larouche O , Cloutier R ,
2023 Biology Letters (Date Added: 2023-03-07)

60- The preorbital depression and recess of antiarch placoderms (jawed stem-gnathostomes) revisited from an ontogenetic (saltatory) point of view
Journal Article
Charest F , Johanson Z , Cloutier R ,
2022 Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (Date Added: 2022-10-29)

59- Paedomorphosis and neurocranial ossification in two Devonian lungfishes
Journal Article
,
2022 Acta Palaeontologica Polonica (Date Added: 2022-09-08)

58- Morphometric analysis of lungfish endocasts elucidates early dipnoan palaeoneurological evolution
Journal Article
Clement A M , Challands T J , Cloutier R , Houle L , Ahlberg P E , Collin S P , Long J A ,
2022 eLife (Date Added: 2022-07-24)

57- Life history and ossification patterns in Miguashaia bureaui reveal the early evolution of osteogenesis in coelacanths
Journal Article
Mondéjar Fernández J , Meunier F J , Cloutier R , Clément G , Laurin M ,
2022 PeerJ (Date Added: 2022-05-05)

56- A fresh look at cladarosymblema narrienense, a tetrapodomorph fish (sarcopterygii: Megalichthyidae) from the carboniferous of Australia, illuminated via X-ray tomography
Journal Article
Clement A M , Cloutier R , Lu J , Perilli E , Maksimenko A , Long J ,
2021 PeerJ (Date Added: 2021-12-24)

55- A late-surviving stem-ctenophore from the Late Devonian of Miguasha (Canada)
Journal Article
Klug C , Kerr J , Lee M S Y , Cloutier R ,
2021 Scientific Reports (Date Added: 2021-10-05)

54- Phenotypic regionalization of the vertebral column in the thorny skate Amblyraja radiata: Stability and variation
Journal Article
Berio F , Bayle Y , Riley C , Larouche O , Cloutier R ,
2021 Journal of Anatomy (Date Added: 2021-09-29)

53- A microanatomical and histological study of the scales of the Devonian sarcopterygian Miguashaia bureaui and the evolution of the squamation in coelacanths
Journal Article
Mondéjar‐Fernández J , Meunier F J , Cloutier R , Clément G , Laurin M ,
2021 Journal of Anatomy (Date Added: 2021-03-28)

52- The phylogenetic origin of fingers
Journal Article
Cloutier R , Long J A , Clement A M ,
2020 Medecine sciences : M/S (Date Added: 2020-12-27)

51- Author Correction: Elpistostege and the origin of the vertebrate hand (Nature, (2020), 579, 7800, (549-554), 10.1038/s41586-020-2100-8)
Journal Erratum
Cloutier R , Clement A M , Lee M S Y , Noël R , Béchard I , Roy V , Long J A ,
2020 Nature (Date Added: 2020-07-22)

50- Elpistostege and the origin of the vertebrate hand
Journal Article
Cloutier R , Clement A M , Lee M S Y , Noël R , Béchard I , Roy V , Long J A ,
2020 Nature (Date Added: 2020-04-06)

49- A critical appraisal of appendage disparity and homology in fishes
Journal Article
Larouche O , Zelditch M L , Cloutier R ,
2019 Fish and Fisheries (Date Added: 2019-09-07)

48- Environmentally cued hatching in the bird-parasitic nest fly Philornis downsi
Journal Article
Sage R , Boulton R A , Lahuatte P F , Causton C E , Cloutier R , Heimpel G E ,
2018 Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (Date Added: 2019-02-27)

47- Evolution of vertebrate postcranial complexity: Axial skeleton regionalization and paired appendages in a Devonian jawless fish
Journal Article
Chevrinais M , Johanson Z , Trinajstic K , Long J , Morel C , Renaud C B , Cloutier R ,
2018 Palaeontology (Date Added: 2018-08-01)

46- Loss in the making: Absence of pelvic fins and presence of paedomorphic pelvic girdles in a Late Devonian antiarch placoderm (jawed stem-gnathostome)
Journal Article
Charest F , Johanson Z , Cloutier R ,
2018 Biology Letters (Date Added: 2018-07-16)

45- Modularity promotes morphological divergence in ray-finned fishes
Journal Article
Larouche O , Zelditch M L , Cloutier R ,
2018 Scientific Reports (Date Added: 2018-05-24)

44- Early establishment of vertebrate tropic interactions: Food web structure in middle to late devonian fish assemblages with exceptional fossilization
Journal Article
Chevrinais M , Jacquet C , Cloutier R ,
2017 Bulletin of Geosciences (Date Added: 2018-01-19)

43- Unravelling the ontogeny of a Devonian early gnathostome, the "acanthodian" Triazeugacanthus affinis (eastern Canada)
Journal Article
Chevrinais M , Sire J , Cloutier R ,
2017 PeerJ (Date Added: 2017-11-08)

42- Similarity of morphological composition and developmental patterning in paired fins of the elephant shark
Journal Article
Riley C , Cloutier R , Grogan E D ,
2017 Scientific Reports (Date Added: 2017-09-17)

41- Fin modules: An evolutionary perspective on appendage disparity in basal vertebrates
Journal Article
Larouche O , Zelditch M L , Cloutier R ,
2017 BMC Biology (Date Added: 2017-05-18)

39- Asymmetry in dentition and shape of pharyngeal arches in the clonal fish Chrosomus eos-neogaeus: Phenotypic plasticity and developmental instability
Journal Article
Leung C , Duclos K K , Grünbaum T , Cloutier R , Angers B ,
2017 PLoS ONE (Date Added: 2017-04-17)

38-Devonian food webs: Species functional traits and gut contents in 390-380-million-years-old fish communities
Abstract
Cloutier R , Jacquet C , Chevrinais M ,
2016 New perspectives on the Evolution of Phanerozoic Biotas and Ecosystems Conference Proceedings ( Date Added: 2018-05-10)

36- Building blocks of a fish head: Developmental and variational modularity in a complex system
Journal Article
Lehoux, C, Cloutier, R
2015 Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution (Date Added: 2015-11-09)

35- Head, Body and Fins: Patterns of Morphological Integration and Modularity in Fishes
Journal Article
Larouche, O, Cloutier, R, Zelditch, ML
2015 Evolutionary Biology (Date Added: 2015-07-10)

34-Givetian (Middle Devonian) sharks from Cairo, New York (USA): Evidence of early cosmopolitanism
Journal Article
Potvin-Leduc, D, Cloutier, R, Landing, E, Hernick, LV, Mannolini, F
2015 Acta Palaeontologica Polonica ( Date Added: 2015-03-30)

33- The revival of a so-called rotten fish: the ontogeny of the Devonian acanthodian Triazeugacanthus
Journal Article
Chevrinais, M, Cloutier, R, Sire, J-Y
2015 Biology Letters (Date Added: 2015-03-30)

32- The Devonian placoderm fish Bothriolepis canadensis revisited with three-dimensional digital imagery
Journal Article
Béchard, I, Arsenault, F, Cloutier, R, Kerr, J
2014 Palaeontologia Electronica (Date Added: 2015-02-19)

30- Apatite for destruction: Isotopic and geochemical analyses of bioapatites and sediments from the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation (Miguasha, Québec)
Journal Article
Matton, O, Cloutier, R, Stevenson, R
2012 Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (Date Added: 2012-08-24)

29- The Miguasha Fossil-Fish-Lagerstätte: a consequence of the Devonian land–sea interactions
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Proust, J-N, Tessier, B
2011 Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments (Date Added: 2012-09-26)

28- Early ontogeny of the Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus head
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Lambrey de Souza, J, Browman, HI, Skiftesvik, AB
2011 Journal of Fish Biology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

27- Effect of water velocity on the timing of skeletogenesis in the arctic Charr, Salvelinus alpinus (Salmoniformes: Teleostei): An empirical case of developmental plasticity
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Caron, A, Grünbaum, T, Le François, NR
2011 International Journal of Zoology (Date Added: 2012-05-10)

26- Developmental plasticity in fish exposed to a water velocity gradient: A complex response
Journal Article
Fischer-Rousseau, L, Chu, KP, Cloutier, R
2010 Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

25- Ontogeny, variation, and homology in Salvelinus alpinus caudal skeleton (Teleostei: Salmonidae)
Journal Article
Grünbaum, T, Cloutier, R
2010 Journal of Morphology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

24- The fossil record of fish ontogenies: Insights into developmental patterns and processes
Journal Article
Cloutier, R
2010 Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

23- Morphological integration and developmental progress during fish ontogeny in two contrasting habitats
Journal Article
Fischer-Rousseau, L, Cloutier, R, Zelditch, ML
2009 Evolution and Development (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

22- Comparison of the channel darter (Percina copelandi) summer habitat in two rivers from eastern Canada
Journal Article
Boucher, J, Bérubé, P, Cloutier, R
2009 Journal of Freshwater Ecology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

21- Positive effects of exposure to increased water velocity on growth of newly hatched Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus L.
Journal Article
Grünbaum, T, Cloutier, R, Le François, NR
2008 Aquaculture Research (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

20- A primitive megalichthyid fish (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha) from the Upper Devonian of Turkey and its biogeographical implications
Journal Article
Janvier, P, Clément, G, Cloutier, R
2007 Geodiversitas (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

19- Early developmental plasticity and integrative responses in arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): effects of water velocity on body size and shape
Journal Article
Grünbaum, T, Cloutier, R, Mabee, PM, Le François, NR
2007 Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution (Date Added: 2012-06-20)

18- Environmental influence on activity levels and behavioural allocation in the polychaete Nereis virens (Sars)
Journal Article
Deschênes, J, Desrosiers, G, Ferron, J, Cloutier, R, Stora, G
2005 Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

17- Origin and early diversification of actinopterygians
Book Chapter
Cloutier, R, Arratia, G
2004 Recent advances in the origin an early radiation of vertebrates: honoring Hans-Peter Schultze (Date Added: 2013-11-27)

16- Variations in food utilisation and carbon sequestration by the polychaete Nereis virens under experimental conditions
Journal Article
Deschênes, J, Desrosiers, G, Ferron, J, Cloutier, R, Stora, G
2003 Vie et Milieu (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

15- The oldest articulated chondrichthyan from the Early Devonian period
Journal Article
Miller, RF, Cloutier, R, Turner, S
2003 Nature (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

14- Vertebral development in the Devonian sarcopterygian fish Eusthenopteron foordi and the polarity of vertebral evolution in non-amniote tetrapods
Journal Article
Cote, S, Carroll, R, Cloutier, R, Bar-Sagi, L
2002 Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

13- Early diagenesis of the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec: Sedimentological and geochemical evidence
Journal Article
El Albani, A, Cloutier, R, Candilier, A-M
2002 Sedimentary Geology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

12- Middle and Late Devonian vertebrates of the western Old Red Sandstone Continent
Book Whole
Elliott, DK, Johnson, HG, Cloutier, R, Carr, RK, Daeschler, EB
2000 (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

11- Biostratigraphical correlations of Early Devonian vertebrate assemblages of the Old Red Sandstone Continent
Book Whole
Blieck, A, Cloutier, R, Elliott, DK, Goujet, D, Loboziak, S, Reed, RC, Rodina, O, Steemans, P, Valiukevicius, JJ, V'yushkova, L, Yolkin, EA, Young, VT
2000 (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

10- Lower vertebrate palaeontology - Renewal and developments
Journal Article
Poplin, C, Blieck, A, Cloutier, R, Derycke, C, Goujet, D, Janvier, P, Lelièvre, H, Véran, M, Wenz, S
1997 Geobios (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

9- Biostratigraphy of the upper devonian escuminac formation, eastern Quebec, Canada: A comparative study based on miospores and fishes
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Loboziak, S, Candilier, A-M, Blieck, A
1996 Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

8- Sarcopterygian interrelationships: How far are we from a phylogenetic consensus?
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Ahlberg, PE
1995 Geobios (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

7- Palaeozoic vertebrates ofnorthern France and Belgium: Part III-Sarcopterygii (Devonian to Carboniferous)
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Candilier, AM
1995 Geobios (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

5- Patterns, trends, and rates of evolution within the Actinistia
Journal Article
Cloutier, R
1991 Environmental Biology of Fishes (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

4- Diversity of extinct and living actinistian fishes (Sarcopterygii)
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Forey, PL
1991 Environmental Biology of Fishes (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

3- Literature relating to fossil coelacanths
Journal Article
Forey, PL, Cloutier, R
1991 Environmental Biology of Fishes (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

2- Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging studies of Latimeria chalumnae
Journal Article
Schultze, H-P, Cloutier, R
1991 Environmental Biology of Fishes (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

1- Recent radiologic imaging techniques for morphological studies in Latimeria chalumnae
Journal Article
Cloutier, R, Schultze, H-P, Wiley, EO, Musick, JA, Daimler, JC, Brown, MA, Dwyer III, SJ, Cook, LT, Laws, RL
1988 Environmental Biology of Fishes (Date Added: 2012-07-11)

In the media

We discovered a new fossil species of prehistoric fish
2024-10-23

Nous avons découvert une nouvelle espèce fossile de poisson préhistorique
2024-09-23

New fossil fish species scales up evidence of Earth’s evolutionary march
2024-09-12

Des paléontologues du monde entier débarquent à Rimouski et à Miguasha
2024-06-17

Les paléontologues se réunissent à l’UQAR
2024-06-11

Richard Cloutier fait l’objet d’un article dans la revue scientifique Nature
2020-03-30

La revue « Nature » publie une découverte du professeur Richard Cloutier
(Jean-Francois Bouchard) 2020-03-23

Une incursion dans le monde de la paléontologie
(Jean-Francois Bouchard) 2020-03-02

Il y a cinq ans, un fossile découvert à Miguasha connaissait une célébrité planétaire
2018-11-06

Une équipe de l’UQAR apporte un nouvel éclairage sur l’évolution des nageoires des poissons
(Bouchard, Jean-François ) 2017-07-14

Ce que des écailles fossiles révèlent sur l’évolution des requins
(Bouchard, Jean-François ) 2017-05-11

Les trésors de Miguasha livrent de nouveaux secrets
(Gobeil, Mathieu) 2017-01-16

Plaidoyer pour un poisson pourri
Le Soleil (Cliche, Jean-Francois) 2015-12-21

Des activitées ''grand public'' seront offertes lors du congres de lACFAS a Rimouski
(Thérèse Martin) 2015-05-07

L’Elpistostege watsoni livre ses secrets - UQAR INFO
UQAR-Info (Jean-François Bouchard) 2014-04-16

Elpi, les premiers pas
Québec Science (Leblanc, Joël) 2014-03-31

Témoin du passage de l'eau à la terre ferme?
Yahoo 2013-11-06

Découverte d'un fossile exceptionnel : Elpistostege watsoni
CNW Telbec 2013-11-06

L'Elpistostege, un fossile unique au monde
Le Soleil (Gagné, Gilles) 2013-11-06

Il y a 380 millions d’années… naissait notre ancêtre.
Innovation 2013-11-06

Le piéton originel?
Les années lumière 2013-11-03

Cyrena Riley et Richard Cloutier remportent le concours La preuve par l’image
UQAR-Info 2013-09-16

Université d’été en biogéographie côtière, montagnarde et alpine avec l’UQAR
Bas-Saint-Laurent 2013-08-07

Le courrier des 'Années lumière
Les années-lumière (Bouchrak, Ouatik) 2011-02-17