Browse Items (22 total)

Objectives: Primate diagonal sequence (DS) gaits are often argued to be an adaptation for moving and foraging in the fine‐branch niche; however, existing data have come predominantly from laboratory studies that are limited in taxonomic breadth and…

Multituberculate and eutriconodontan endocasts differ from those of primitive therian mammals in their lack of visible midbrain exposure oil the dorsal side and in having a vermis-like triangular bulge (recognized herein as the cast of a large…

The cranial anatomy of Megalohyrax eoceanus Andrews, 1903, a pliohyracid (Hyracoidea, Mammalia) from Oligocene levels of the Jebel Qatrani Formation of the Fayum Depression in Egypt, is described. Megalohyrax is the largest of the Fayum hyracoids,…

Von Economo neurons (VENs) are specialized projection neurons with a characteristic spindle-shaped soma and thick basal and apical dendrites. VENs have been described in restricted cortical regions, with their most frequent appearance in layers III…

The hypothesis that flower shape affects nectar-feeding performance was examined for the nectarivorous bat, Syconycteris australis. Experiments using feeders with artificial flowers of different diameters demonstrated that the narrow flower diameter…

The reticular formation of mammals contains numerous nuclei which can be recognized by their projection patterns, cytoarchitectonics, and neuropeptide/neurotransmitter content. We have identified reticular nuclei in representatives from numerous…

BACKGROUND: Among living fliers (birds, bats, and insects), birds display relatively high aspect ratios, a dimensionless shape variable that distinguishes long and narrow vs. short and broad wings. Increasing aspect ratio results in a functional…

The establishment of a publicly-accessible repository of physiological data on feeding in mammals, the Feeding Experiments End-user Database (FEED), along with improvements in reconstruction of mammalian phylogeny, significantly improves our ability…

Abstract Cetaceans are obligate aquatic mammals derived from terrestrial artiodactyls. The defining characteristic of cetaceans is a thick and dense lip (pachyosteosclerotic involucrum) of an ear bone (the tympanic). This unique feature is absent in…

Among mammals, modern cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are unusual in the absence of hind limbs. However, cetacean embryos do initiate hind-limb bud development. In dolphins, the bud arrests and degenerates around the fifth gestational…

The origin of whales (order Cetacea) is one of the best-documented examples of macroevolutionary change in vertebrates. As the earliest whales became obligately marine, all of their organ systems adapted to the new environment. The fossil record…

Modern members of the mammalian order Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are obligate aquatic swimmers that are highly distinctive in morphology, lacking hair and hind limbs, and having flippers, flukes, and a streamlined body. Eocene fossils…

Neurohypophysial peptides are important regulators of homeostasis, reproduction and behavior. We have sequenced a zebrafish cDNA representing isotocin-neurophysin (IT-NP) mRNA. The developmental expression pattern of zebrafish IT-NP mRNA was…

Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) have a soft tissue flipper that encases most of the forelimb, and elongated digits with an increased number of phalanges (hyperphalangy). In addition, some cetaceans exhibit a reduction in digit number.…

The importance of locomotion to evolutionary fitness has led to extensive study of primate locomotor behavior, morphology and ecology. Most previous research has focused on adult primates, but in the last few decades, increased attention to locomotor…

Jaw-joint height (JJH) above the occlusal plane is thought to be influenced by cranial base angle (CBA) and facial angulation during growth. To better understand how JJH relates to midline craniofacial form, we test the hypothesis that relative…

We examined masseter and temporalis recruitment and firing patterns during chewing in five male Belanger's treeshrews (Tupaia belangeri), using electromyography (EMG). During chewing, the working-side masseters tend to show almost three times more…

The primate masticatory apparatus (MA) is a functionally integrated set of features, each of which performs important functions in biting, ingestive, and chewing behaviors. A comparison of morphological covariance structure among species for these MA…
Output Formats

atom, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2