The masticatory apparatus amongst closely related carnivoran species raises intriguing questions about the interplay between allometry, function, and phylogeny in defining interspecific variations of cranial morphology. Here we describe the gross structure of the jaw adductor muscles of several species of canid, and then examine how the muscles are scaled across the range of body sizes, phyloge...

Taxonomy of the African Red Colobus group is currently unresolved. The single species Procolobus badius has been split into different taxa, but the relationships between the morphotypes are poorly understood, often due to a lack of specimens. One of these taxa, the endangered Piliocolobus gordonorum (Udzungwa Red Colobus) is restricted to the Udzungwa Mountains of southern Tanzania. In this pap...

A partial rostrum with an attachcd lower jaw, a posterior neurocranium, and a proximal hyomandibular from the Lincoln Creek Formation (late Oligocene, Washington) arc described and identified as Aglyptorhynchlls coillmhianlls sp, nov. In addition. ten articulated anterior caudal vertebrae presumably from the Lincoln Creek Formation arc described and identified as Aglyptorhyllchlls sp. This is a...

In morphological terms, "form" is used to describe an object's shape and size. In dogs, facial form is stunningly diverse. Facial retrusion, the proximodistal shortening of the snout and widening of the hard palate is common to brachycephalic dogs and is a welfare concern, as the incidence of respiratory distress and ocular trauma observed in this class of dogs is highly correlated with their s...

Hoplunnis punctata, a member of the Anguilliformes, is a long-snouted eel that lives in benthic habitats of the continental shelf of tropical waters. The purpose of this study was to examine the skull morphology of this little known nettastomatid and to understand the changes associated with jaw elongation as well as the implications of jaw elongation on the feeding apparatus. We present a deta...

We report five new specimens of xenorophid dolphins from North and South Carolina. Four of the specimens represent the xenorophid Albertocetus meffordorum, previously only known from the holotype skull. The other is a fragmentary petrosal from the upper Oligocene Belgrade Formation that we refer to Echovenator sp, indicating at least two xenorophids from that unit. Two of the Albertocetus meffo...

Heterochrony, the classic framework in which to study ontogeny and phylogeny, in essence relies on a univariate concept of shape. Though principal component (PC) plots of multivariate shape data seem to resemble classical bivariate allometric plots, the language of heterochrony cannot be translated directly into general multivariate methodology. We simulate idealized multivariate ontogenetic tr...

Advances in imaging and modeling facilitate the calculation of biomechanical forces in biological specimens. These factors play a significant role during ontogenetic development of cichlid pharyngeal jaws, a key innovation responsible for one of the most prolific species diversifications in recent times. MicroCT imaging of radiopaque-stained vertebrate embryos were used to accurately capture th...

Nowadays, head injuries are becoming more frequent in children. The most common cause of head injuries in children is fall, and, in more severe injuries, traffic accident trauma. In traumatic brain injuries in infants and small children, the most common symptoms are paleness, somnolence and vomiting, the so called "pediatric contusion syndrome". After the first year of age, light head trauma oc...

The osteological development in Sebastes koreanus is described and illustrated on the basis of 32 larvae [6.11–11.10 mm body length (BL)] and a single juvenile (18.60 mm BL) collected from the Yellow Sea. The first-ossified skeletal elements, which are related to feeding, swimming, and respiration, appear in larvae of 6.27 mm BL; these include the jaw bones, palatine, opercular, hyoid arch, and...