RT Journal Article
T1 A three-dimensional analysis of morphological evolution and locomotor performance of the carnivoran forelimb.
A1 Martín-Serra, Alberto
A1 Figueirido-Castillo, Francisco Borja
A1 Palmqvist-Barrena, Carlos Paul
K1 Extremidades
K1 Aparato locomotor
AB In this study, three-dimensional landmark-based methods of geometric morphometrics are used for estimating the influence of phylogeny, allometry and locomotor performance on forelimb shape in living and extinct carnivorans (Mammalia, Carnivora). The main objective is to investigate morphological convergences towards similar locomotor strategies in the shape of the major forelimb bones. Results indicate that both size and phylogeny have strong effects on the anatomy of all forelimb bones. In contrast, bone shape does not correlate in the living taxa with maximum running speed or daily movement distance, two proxies closely related to locomotor performance. A phylomorphospace approach showed that shape variation in forelimb bones mainly relates to changes in bone robustness. This indicates the presence of biomechanical constraints resulting from opposite demands for energetic efficiency in locomotion –which would require a slender forelimb– and resistance to stress –which would be satisfied by a robust forelimb–. Thus, we interpret that the need of maintaining a trade-off between both functional demands would limit shape variability in forelimb bones. Given that different situations can lead to one or another morphological solution, depending on the specific ecology of taxa, the evolution of forelimb morphology represents a remarkable ‘‘one-to-many mapping’’ case between anatomy and ecology.
PB PLOS
YR 2014
FD 2014
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/36526
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/36526
LA eng
NO Martín-Serra A, Figueirido B and Palmqvist P. 2014. A three-dimensional analysis of morphological evolution and locomotor performance of the carnivoran forelimb. PLoS ONE 9: e85574.
NO This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education PhD Research Fellowship (FPU) to AMS, projects CGL2008-04896, CGL2011-30334 and CGL2012-37866 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and project Hum-7248 from Junta de Andalucía. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 22 ene 2026