Fatigue resistant jaw muscles facilitate long-lasting courtship behaviour in the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata).

ABSTRACT: The southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) exhibits a courtship behaviour during which the male firmly grips the female's head in his jaws for many hours at a time. This extreme behaviour counters the conventional wisdom that reptilian muscle is incapable of powering high-endurance behaviours. We conducted in situ experiments in which the jaw-adductor muscles of lizards were stimulated directly while bite force was measured simultaneously. Fatigue tests were performed by stimulating the muscles with a series of tetanic trains. Our results show that a substantial sustained force gradually develops during the fatigue test. This sustained force persists after peak tetanic forces have declined to a fraction of their initial magnitude. The observed sustained force durin

SUBMITTER: Nguyen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7542809 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature