Journal
ISCIENCE
Volume 25, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103578
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Funding
- NSF DEB Grant [1754459]
- Wetmore Colles fund
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1754459] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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This study reveals the functional variation between postural grades and the evolutionary trend of parasagittal postures during synapsid evolution by building forelimb musculoskeletal models of extant species.
The sprawling-parasagittal postural shift was a major transition during synapsid evolution, underpinned by reorganization of the forelimb, and consi lered key to mammalian ecological diversity. Determining when and how this transition occurred in the fossil record is challenging owing to limited comparative data on extant species. Here, we built forelimb musculoskeletal models of three extant taxa that bracket sprawling-parasagittal postures-tegu lizard, echidna, and opossum- and tested the relationship between three-dimensional joint mobility, muscle action, and posture. Results demonstrate clear functional variation between postural grades, with the parasagittal opossum occupying a distinct region of pose space characterized by a highly retracted and depressed shoulder joint that emphasizes versatility and hume-al elevation. Applying our data to the fossil record support trends of an increasingly retracted humerus and greater elevation muscle moment arms indicative of more parasagittal postures throughout synapsid evolution.
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