Convergence, divergence, and macroevolutionary constraint as revealed by anatomical network analysis of the squamate skull, with an emphasis on snakes.

ABSTRACT: Traditionally considered the earliest-diverging group of snakes, scolecophidians are central to major evolutionary paradigms regarding squamate feeding mechanisms and the ecological origins of snakes. However, quantitative analyses of these phenomena remain scarce. Herein, we therefore assess skull modularity in squamates via anatomical network analysis, focusing on the interplay between 'microstomy' (small-gaped feeding), fossoriality, and miniaturization in scolecophidians. Our analyses reveal distinctive patterns of jaw connectivity across purported 'microstomatans', thus supporting a more complex scenario of jaw evolution than traditionally portrayed. We also find that fossoriality and miniaturization each define a similar region of topospace (i.e., connectivity-based morphospace), wit

SUBMITTER: Strong CRC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9411180 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature