Data for: Three-dimensional characterization of osteocyte volumes at multiple scales, and its relationship with bone biology and genome evolution in ray-finned fishes

Osteocytes, cells embedded within the bone mineral matrix, inform on key aspects of vertebrate biology. In particular, a relationship between volumes of the osteocytes and bone growth and/or genome size has been proposed for several tetrapod lineages. However, the variation in osteocyte volume across different scales is poorly characterised, and mostly relies on incomplete, two-dimensional information. In this study, we characterise the variation of osteocyte volumes in ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii), a clade including more than half of modern vertebrate species in which osteocyte biology is poorly known. We use X-ray synchrotron micro-computed tomography (SRµCT) to achieve a three-dimensional visualisation of osteocyte lacunae and direct measurement of their size (volumes). Our specimen sample is designed to characterise variation in osteocyte lacuna morphology at three scales: within a bone, among the bones of one individual and among species. At the intra-bone scale, we find that...