Functional Morphology and Comparative Anatomy of Appendicular Musculature in Cuban<i>Anolis</i>Lizards with Different Locomotor Habits

Anzai, Wataru; Omura, Ayano; Díaz, Antonio Cádiz; Kawata, Masakado; Endo, Hideki

doi:10.2108/zs130062

Cited by 20 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…We predict that arboreal species will have larger flexor muscles and humeral retractors to assist them during climbing on vertical substrates, such as tree trunks (Youlatos, 2000). We also predict longer muscular fibres, allowing for an increase in movement amplitude, which is important during gap bridging (Hildebrand & Goslow, 2001;Foster & Higham, 2012), and more robust adductors to provide stability when walking on narrow branches (Anzai et al, 2014) in a crouched posture (Schmidt & Fischer, 2000). Finally, we predict that the wrist flexors and rotators will be better developed, because they allow wrist flexion and rotation, which is likely to be important during both climbing and locomotion on narrow substrates (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Convergence in the functional properties of forelimb muscles in carnivorans: adaptations to an arboreal lifestyle?

Taverne¹,

Fabre²,

Herbin³

et al. 2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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The arboreal environment is complex and irregular and imposes significant constraints on the locomotor ability of vertebrates, resulting in morphological adaptations. Carnivorans are of particular interest because they radiated several times independently into the arboreal milieu, leading to convergence in long bone anatomy. We investigated whether the forelimb muscles show differences in arboreal vs. terrestrial species and tested for convergence in muscle architecture. To do so, we studied the forelimb muscles in 17 species of carnivorans with different locomotor modes (arboreal and terrestrial). Our results showed that the forelimb musculature evolved in a convergent manner in arboreal species, resulting in more forceful and heavier wrist rotators and elbow flexors, even when accounting for phylogeny. This suggests that selective forces imposed by the environment drive the evolution of the muscular system towards a convergent phenotype that provides a functional advantage for locomotion in the complex threedimensional arboreal habitat.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Convergence in the functional properties of forelimb muscles in carnivorans: adaptations to an arboreal lifestyle?

Taverne¹,

Fabre²,

Herbin³

et al. 2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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“…Most prominent among these differences are the relative anteroposterior extent and anteroventral inclination of the ilium and pubis, which likely have implications for area for origin and direction of the muscle vectors of the femoral protractors (M. puboischiofemoralis group) and retractors (M. iliofemoralis, M. iliotibialis). We postulate that relatively small changes in morphology (Anzai et al, ; Herrel et al, ) are associated with optimizing the movement of three of the four anole ecomorphs (twig; crown giant; trunk‐crown) in their respective environments. Trunk‐ground anoles are less clearly distinguished from trunk‐crown forms than are any of the other ecomorphs from each other.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The anoline ecomorph concept is predicated upon observations that island anoles of the Caribbean occupying similar ecological niches exhibit similar morphological features, regardless of their phylogenetic relationship or biogeographic distribution (Losos, ; Losos et al, ; Williams, ). Given the demonstrable external morphological convergence and niche partitioning among island anoles (Buckley & Roughgarden, ; Kolbe et al, ; Losos et al, ; Mahler et al, ), resulting from diversification in similar environments (Mahler et al, ), we predict that ecomorphological signatures will be present in skeletal (and muscular) attributes associated with their locomotion in the distinctive parts of the structural habitat that they exploit (Anzai et al, ; Tinius & Russell, ). Beyond the field notes of Peterson (), however, few authors have explored such potential ecomorphological differences in the 3D form of the postcranial skeleton and musculature of anoles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beyond the field notes of Peterson (), however, few authors have explored such potential ecomorphological differences in the 3D form of the postcranial skeleton and musculature of anoles. Those who have (Anzai et al, ; Herrel et al, ; Legreneur et al, ) furnish data that are only suggestive of musculoskeletal differences between Anolis species, but that are not generalizable to entire ecomorph categories.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What is bred in the bone: Ecomorphological associations of pelvic girdle form in greater Antillean Anolis lizards

Tinius

Russell

Jamniczky

et al. 2018

Journal of Morphology

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Ecological niche partitioning of Anolis lizards of the Greater Antillean islands has been the focus of many comparative studies, and much is known about external morphological convergence that characterizes anole ecomorphs. Their internal anatomy, however, has rarely been explored in an ecomorphological context, and it remains unknown to what degree skeletal morphology tracks the diversity and ecological adaptation of these lizards. Herein, we employ CT scanning techniques to visualise the skeleton of the pelvic girdle in situ, and 3D geometric morphometrics to compare the form of the ilium, ischium, and pubis within and between ecomorphs. We examine 26 species of anoles representing four ecomorphs (trunk-ground, trunk-crown, crown-giant, twig) from three islands (Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico). The subtle variations in pelvic girdle morphology discovered are directly associable with all three parameters that we set out to focus on: phylogenetic relationship, specimen size, and assigned ecomorph category. Morphometric variation that correlates with size and/or phylogenetic signal varies between species and cannot be eliminated from the data set without markedly reducing its overall variability. The discovered patterns of skeletal variation are consistent with the demands of locomotor mechanics pertinent to the structural configuration of the microhabitat of three of the four ecomorphs, with the fourth having no discernible distinctive features. This manifests itself chiefly in the relative anteroposterior extent and anteroventral inclination of the ilium and pubis, which differ between ecomorphs and are postulated to reflect optimization of the direction of muscle vectors of the femoral protractors and retractors. Our investigation of the form of the pelvic girdle of anoles allows us to generalize our findings to entire ecomorph categories within a broad phylogenetic and biogeographic context. Differences in the form and configuration of the postcranial skeleton are directly related to ecological patterns.

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“…Both pushup displays and locomotor behaviors require the contraction of a suite of forelimb skeletal muscles. First, biceps have been hypothesized (Herrel et al 2008;Anzai et al 2014) and demonstrated (Foster and Higham 2014) to be important in elbow flexion (decrease in the angle between the forearm and the hind limb) during locomotion, a movement also involved in the pushup display. In humans, the biceps are a major contributor during pushup behavior, and variation in bicep activation is correlated with pushup speed, such that slower pushups result from greater bicep activation (Chou et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of androgen receptor expression and behavior in Anolis lizard forelimb muscles

2017

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The motor systems that produce behavioral movements are among the primary targets for the action of steroid hormones, including androgens. Androgens such as testosterone bind to androgen receptors (AR) to induce physiological changes in the size, strength, and energetic capacity of skeletal muscles, which can directly influence the performance of behaviors in which those muscles are used. Because tissues differentially express AR, resulting in tissue-specific sensitivity to androgens, AR expression may be a major target of selection for the evolution of behavior. Anolis lizards (i.e., anoles) provide a robust system for the study of androgen-regulated traits, including the behavioral traits that facilitate social display and locomotion. In this study, we examined six anole species that demonstrate significant variation in the behavioral use of the forelimbs to measure the proportion of myonuclei in the bicep muscles that express AR. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we found that species with a greater proportion of nuclei positive for AR expression in the biceps exhibited greater frequencies of locomotor movements and pushup displays. These results suggest that AR expression in skeletal muscles may influence the evolution of androgen-regulated behaviors in this group.

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Functional Morphology and Comparative Anatomy of Appendicular Musculature in CubanAnolisLizards with Different Locomotor Habits

Cited by 20 publications

References 33 publications

Convergence in the functional properties of forelimb muscles in carnivorans: adaptations to an arboreal lifestyle?

Convergence in the functional properties of forelimb muscles in carnivorans: adaptations to an arboreal lifestyle?

What is bred in the bone: Ecomorphological associations of pelvic girdle form in greater Antillean Anolis lizards

The evolution of androgen receptor expression and behavior in Anolis lizard forelimb muscles

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