Appendicular Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics in Crocodylus niloticus.

ABSTRACT: Archosaurian reptiles (including living crocodiles and birds) had an explosive diversification of locomotor form and function since the Triassic approximately 250 million years ago. Their limb muscle physiology and biomechanics are pivotal to our understanding of how their diversity and evolution relate to locomotor function. Muscle contraction velocity, force, and power in extinct archosaurs such as early crocodiles, pterosaurs, or non-avian dinosaurs are not available from fossil material, but are needed for biomechanical modeling and simulation. However, an approximation or range of potential parameter values can be obtained by studying extant representatives of the archosaur lineage. Here, we study the physiological performance of three appendicular muscles in Nile crocodiles (Croco

SUBMITTER: Michel KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7810574 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature