Morphological evolution and modularity of the caecilian skull.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Caecilians (Gymnophiona) are the least speciose extant lissamphibian order, yet living forms capture approximately 250 million years of evolution since their earliest divergences. This long history is reflected in the broad range of skull morphologies exhibited by this largely fossorial, but developmentally diverse, clade. However, this diversity of form makes quantification of caecilian cranial morphology challenging, with highly variable presence or absence of many structures. Consequently, few studies have examined morphological evolution across caecilians. This extensive variation also raises the question of degree of conservation of cranial modules (semi-autonomous subsets of highly-integrated traits) within this clade, allowing us to assess the importance of modula

SUBMITTER: Bardua C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6343317 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature