Regional differences in vertebral shape along the axial skeleton in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona).
J Anat
; 241(3): 716-728, 2022 09.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35488423
ABSTRACT
Caecilians are elongate, limbless and annulated amphibians that, as far as is known, all have an at least partly fossorial lifestyle. It has been suggested that elongate limbless vertebrates show little morphological differentiation throughout the postcranial skeleton. However, relatively few studies have explored the axial skeleton in limbless tetrapods. In this study, we used µCT data and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to explore regional differences in vertebral shape across a broad range of caecilian species. Our results highlight substantial differences in vertebral shape along the axial skeleton, with anterior vertebrae being short and bulky, whereas posterior vertebrae are more elongated. This study shows that despite being limbless, elongate tetrapods such as caecilians still show regional heterogeneity in the shape of individual vertebrae along the vertebral column. Further studies are needed, however, to understand the possible causes and functional consequences of the observed variation in vertebral shape in caecilians.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Coluna Vertebral
/
Anfíbios
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Anat
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article