Evolution of fossorial locomotion in the transition from tetrapod to snake-like in lizards.

ABSTRACT: Dramatic evolutionary transitions in morphology are often assumed to be adaptive in a new habitat. However, these assumptions are rarely tested because such tests require intermediate forms, which are often extinct. In vertebrates, the evolution of an elongate, limbless body is generally hypothesized to facilitate locomotion in fossorial and/or cluttered habitats. However, these hypotheses remain untested because few studies examine the locomotion of species ranging in body form from tetrapod to snake-like. Here, we address these functional hypotheses by testing whether trade-offs exist between locomotion in surface, fossorial and cluttered habitats in Australian Lerista lizards, which include multiple intermediate forms. We found that snake-like species penetrated sand substrates f

SUBMITTER: Morinaga G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7126036 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature