Movement control in vertebrates is a complex function that is known to involve several parallel systems. In amphibians, which lack the isocortical structures shown in mammals to initiate and control voluntary movements, supraspinal motor control…
Neotropical monkeys of the genera Cacajao, Chiropotes, and Pithecia (Pitheciidae) are considered to be highly arboreal, spending most of their time feeding and traveling in the upper canopy. Until now, the use of terrestrial substrates has not been…
In vivo laboratory-based studies describing jaw-muscle activity and mandibular bone strain during mastication provide the empirical basis for most evolutionary hypotheses linking primate masticatory apparatus form to diet. However, the laboratory…
Resource distribution shapes many aspects of primate behavioral ecology. Though the spatial patterning of fruits, leaves, and insects has been explored among primate foods, comparatively less is known about exudate distributions. Tree exudates are a…
Three sympatric Hapalemur species (H. g. griseus, H. aureus, and H. (Prolemur) simus) in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar are known to eat bamboo food parts that contain cyanide. How these lemurs avoid cyanide poisoning remains unknown. In this…
As the study of bone disease in recent and fossil amphibians and reptiles has evolved from observational speculation to analysis of testable hypotheses, so too has recognition of its contribution to our understanding of diseases and organisms. Given…
The marsupial middle ear performs an anatomical impedance matching for acoustic energy travelling in air to reach the cochlea. The size of the middle ear sets constraints for the frequencies transmitted. For generalized placental mammals, it has been…
Cytochrome P450s are enzymes involved in the oxidative metabolism of numerous endogenous and exogenous molecules. The enzyme cytochrome debrisoquine/sparteine-type monoxygenase is a specific form of cytochrome P450 and is found in the liver and the…
Diagnosis of diseases of bone, without benefit of soft tissue, in vivo observation, or blood component analysis requires the development of new criteria for diagnosis. Analyzing chimpanzee skeletal populations, applying such criteria (e.g., lesion…
