Multiple phylogenetically distinct events shaped the evolution of limb skeletal morphologies associated with bipedalism in the jerboas.

ABSTRACT: Recent rapid advances in experimental biology have expanded the opportunity for interdisciplinary investigations of the evolution of form and function in non-traditional model species. However, historical divisions of philosophy and methodology between evolutionary/organismal biologists and developmental geneticists often preclude an effective merging of disciplines. In an effort to overcome these divisions, we take advantage of the extraordinary morphological diversity of the rodent superfamily Dipodoidea, including the bipedal jerboas, to experimentally study the developmental mechanisms and biomechanical performance of a remarkably divergent limb structure. Here, we place multiple limb character states in a locomotor and phylogenetic context. Whereas obligate bipedalism arose just once

SUBMITTER: Moore TY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4743034 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature