Comparative muscle anatomy of the anuran pelvis and hindlimb in relation to locomotor mode.

ABSTRACT: Frogs have a highly conserved body plan, yet they employ a diverse array of locomotor modes, making them ideal organisms for investigating the relationships between morphology and locomotor function, in particular whether anatomical complexity is a prerequisite for functional complexity. We use diffusible iodine contrast-enhanced microCT (diceCT) imaging to digitally dissect the gross muscle anatomy of the pelvis and hindlimbs for 30 species of frogs representing five primary locomotor modes, including the first known detailed dissection for some of the world's smallest frogs, forming the largest digital comparative analysis of musculoskeletal structure in any vertebrate clade to date. By linking musculoskeletal dissections and phylogenetic comparative methods, we then quantify and compare

SUBMITTER: Leavey A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11470798 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature