Digest: Microhabitat use and developmental timing shape anuran limb evolution ^*

Abstract

Do frog limb shapes reflect microhabitat use against the backdrop of shared ancestry, body size variation, and developmental constraints? Stepanova and Womack found that when phylogeny and body size are controlled, microhabitat use is a key factor in explaining anuran limb evolution. The shape of distal limb elements in anuran limbs also evolves at a higher rate than proximal elements, suggesting that a relaxation of developmental constraints in distal elements may be shared across tetrapod limb development.