Postcranial heterochrony, modularity, integration and disparity in the prenatal ossification in bats (Chiroptera).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Self-powered flight is one of the most energy-intensive types of locomotion found in vertebrates. It is also associated with a range of extreme morpho-physiological adaptations that evolved independently in three different vertebrate groups. Considering that development acts as a bridge between the genotype and phenotype on which selection acts, studying the ossification of the postcranium can potentially illuminate our understanding of bat flight evolution. However, the ontogenetic basis of vertebrate flight remains largely understudied. Advances in quantitative analysis of sequence heterochrony and morphogenetic growth have created novel approaches to study the developmental basis of diversification and the evolvability of skeletal morphogenesis. Assessing the presence

SUBMITTER: Lopez-Aguirre C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6417144 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature