Cranial biomechanics in basal urodeles: the Siberian salamander (Salamandrella keyserlingii) and its evolutionary and developmental implications.

ABSTRACT: Developmental changes in salamander skulls, before and after metamorphosis, affect the feeding capabilities of these animals. How changes in cranial morphology and tissue properties affect the function of the skull are key to decipher the early evolutionary history of the crown-group of salamanders. Here, 3D cranial biomechanics of the adult Salamandrella keyserlingii were analyzed under different tissue properties and ossification sequences of the cranial skeleton. This helped unravel that: (a) Mechanical properties of tissues (as bone, cartilage or connective tissue) imply a consensus between the stiffness required to perform a function versus the fixation (and displacement) required with the surrounding skeletal elements. (b) Changes on the ossification pattern, producing fontanelles as

SUBMITTER: Zhou Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5579059 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature