Major morphological transformations, such as the evolution of elongate body shape in vertebrates, punctuate evolutionary history. A fundamental step in understanding the processes that give rise to such transformations is identification of the underlying anatomical changes. But as we demonstrate in this study, important insights can also be gained by comparing these changes to those that occur ...

The reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships in the primate fossil record is dependent upon a thorough understanding of the phylogenetic utility of craniodental characters. Here, we test three previously proposed hypotheses for the propensity of primate craniomandibular data to exhibit homoplasy, using a study design based on the relative congruence between cranial distance matrices and a c...

Rapid morphological change has been shown in rodent populations on islands, including endemic deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus subspp.) on the California Channel Islands. Surprisingly, most of these changes were towards a smaller size. Black rats were introduced to Anacapa Island in the mid-1800s (probably in 1853) and eradicated in 2001-2002. To assess possible changes in these rats since the...

In this paper, we examine the relationship between the classical concepts of heterotopy, heterochrony and ontogenetic allometry as descriptive and as explanatory categories in the investigation of evolutionary developmental novelty in the hominid skull. We use concepts of kinematic analysis of locomotion to propose a methodological framework for the kinematic analysis of cranial form change dur...

Morphological integration and modularity are important points of intersection between evolution and the development of organismal form. Identification and quantification of integration are also of increasing paleoanthropological interest. In this study, the "posterior face," i.e., the mandibular ramus and its integration with the associated midline and lateral basicranium, is analyzed in latera...

cobitis keyvani is recently described from the sourhern caspian sea basin. limited information is available about morphological features of c. keyvani , therefore this study was conducted to provide osteological characteristics and cranial myology of this species. for this purpose, nine specimens of c. keyvani were collected from the talar river. the specimens were cleared and stained with aliz...

Cranial skeletal morphology, ontogeny and variation are examined in five species of Thorim, a genus of diminutive plethodontid salamanders that are among the smallest, extant, tailed tetrapods. The akull of adult 'Thhoriu~ is characterized by: (1) limited development or absence of several ossified clemrnts and dentition; (2) increased interand intraspecifir variability; (3) novel morphological ...

Fossil material assigned to Homo erectus is reviewed and the composition, integrity and morphological range of the species explored, to investigate its phyletic status and possible components of geographical and temporal variation. There is no convincing morphological case for differentiating early African specimens (H. ergaster) or "Meganthropus"material from H. erectus and claims for their sp...

OBJECTIVES - To understand how surgical interventions impact the organization and internal integration of the major components of the skull, we address the functional and developmental relationships during perinatal development. METHODS - A number of methods for quantifying modularity and integration of morphological data are available. Here, measures derived from three-dimensional computed tom...