Morphology of the axial skeleton of seven bat genera (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Gaudioso, Pablo Javier; Díaz, M. Mónica; Bárquez, Rubén M.

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201720170076

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…When diagnosing the bat families and searching for general trends in shape space, a common theme revealed here was the grouping of taxa that are not closely related under morphologies with an apparent functional meaning (Gaudioso et al. ). This was well‐illustrated by the proximity of Desmodontinae, Mystacinidae, and Molossidae, from both categorical and quantitative (robusticity) data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), but also due to the ecological diversity reported for some of its components (Gaudioso et al. ). More specifically, our aims in this study are: (1) to describe femoral anatomical features and diagnose bat families; (2) to explore major quantitative trends in the morphology of the femur; and (3) to revisit allometric patterns in femur main dimensions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), and no taxon‐wide published reference with bone illustrations is available (for a recent contribution in phyllostomids, see Gaudioso et al. ). Development in this area, therefore, will help to increase our knowledge of the bat fossil record and the evolution of this rich mammalian group (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative morphology and scaling of the femur in yangochiropteran bats

2019

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Better known by their remarkable forelimb morphology, bats are also unique among mammals with respect to their hindlimbs. Their legs are rotated through 180°, generally reduced in size, and in some extant taxa particular bones (e.g. fibula) can even be absent. The femur is the main leg bone, but to date few bat studies have considered its morphology in detail, none in a wide-scale comparative study. Yangochiroptera is the largest bat taxon, spans nearly three orders of magnitude in body mass, and is highly diverse both in ecology and behavior, representing a good model for comparative analyses. Here, we describe the anatomy of the femur in a large sample of yangochiropteran bats (125 species, 70 genera, and 12 families), and explore major trends of morphological variation and scaling patterns in this bone. We used 13 categorical characters in the anatomical description and five linear dimensions in the quantitative analyses. Based on the categorical data, each family studied here was diagnosed, and those from the Neotropical region were included in an identification key. From the phylogenetic principal component analysis (pPCA) we showed that, in addition to size, major axes of variation in bat femur are related to robusticity and head morphology, features that are clearly distinct among some families. We also generated a phylomorphospace based on pPCA scores, highlighting convergences in femur shape. Molossidae, Mystacinidae, and Desmodontinae were grouped based on their greater robusticity, a pattern that was also recovered from categorical data. In these families, we found anatomical features (e.g. presence of tubercles and posterior ridges on the greater trochanter, long or medially/distally displaced lateral ridges on the shaft) that are well-known from their functional link with quadrupedal locomotion. Using phylogenetic regressions, we found out that compared with body mass, femur length scaled with negative allometry, as expected, but that femur width scaled isometrically, counter to expectations. As a result, robusticity index (the ratio of width to length), scaled with positive allometrylarger bats tended to have more robust hindlimbs. At species level, our most remarkable finding was related to Myotis simus, which presented the most robust femur (for its size) among yangochiropterans. Our results reinforce the informative potential of the chiropteran femur from both taxonomic and functional perspectives. Furthermore, the allometric trends seen in this bone may help understand the strategies adopted by flying vertebrates to deal with the high energetic cost of flight and, at the same time, evolve diversified foraging behaviors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative morphology and scaling of the femur in yangochiropteran bats

2019

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“…Our results also showed that the development of the vertebral column of bats deviates from both the non-volant mammals and birds. In comparison to other mammals, unique morphological features found in the vertebral column of bats have been linked to the roosting and feeding ecology of the species [99]. Our findings of sequence heterochrony in the vertebral column indicate that the morphological patterns found in this region in previous studies could have an ontogenetic basis, originating during the prenatal development of the skeleton [47, 99].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Postcranial heterochrony, modularity, integration and disparity in the prenatal ossification in bats (Chiroptera)

et al. 2019

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BackgroundSelf-powered flight is one of the most energy-intensive types of locomotion found in vertebrates. It is also associated with a range of extreme morpho-physiological adaptations that evolved independently in three different vertebrate groups. Considering that development acts as a bridge between the genotype and phenotype on which selection acts, studying the ossification of the postcranium can potentially illuminate our understanding of bat flight evolution. However, the ontogenetic basis of vertebrate flight remains largely understudied. Advances in quantitative analysis of sequence heterochrony and morphogenetic growth have created novel approaches to study the developmental basis of diversification and the evolvability of skeletal morphogenesis.Assessing the presence of ontogenetic disparity, integration and modularity from an evolutionary approach allows assessing whether flight may have resulted in evolutionary differences in the magnitude and mode of development in bats.ResultsWe quantitatively compared the prenatal ossification of the postcranium (24 bones) between bats (14 species), non-volant mammals (11 species) and birds (14 species), combining for the first time prenatal sequence heterochrony and developmental growth data. Sequence heterochrony was found across groups, showing that bat postcranial development shares patterns found in other flying vertebrates but also those in non-volant mammals. In bats, modularity was found as an axial-appendicular partition, resembling a mammalian pattern of developmental modularity and suggesting flight did not repattern prenatal postcranial covariance in bats.ConclusionsCombining prenatal data from 14 bat species, this study represents the most comprehensive quantitative analysis of chiropteran ossification to date. Heterochrony between the wing and leg in bats could reflect functional needs of the newborn, rather than ecological aspects of the adult. Bats share similarities with birds in the development of structures involved in flight (i.e. handwing and sternum), suggesting that flight altriciality and early ossification of pedal phalanges and sternum are common across flying vertebrates. These results indicate that the developmental modularity found in bats facilitates intramodular phenotypic diversification of the skeleton. Integration and disparity increased across developmental time in bats. We also found a delay in the ossification of highly adaptable and evolvable regions (e.g. handwing and sternum) that are directly associated with flight performance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-019-1396-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Like in most flying birds, bats have a keel on the sternum where the large pectoral muscles attach ( Gaudioso et al, 2017 ). Gross anatomy and electromyography studies have also identified numerous muscles in the arm and forearm of bats with roles in powering wing movement and controlling wing shape and orientation during flight ( Hermanson and Altenbach, 1981 ).…”

Section: Anatomic and Physiologic Features Of Insect Bird And Bat Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Flight Muscle Contractility and Energetic Efficiency

Cao

Jin

2020

Front. Physiol.

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The powered flight of animals requires efficient and sustainable contractions of the wing muscles of various flying species. Despite their high degree of phylogenetic divergence, flight muscles in insects and vertebrates are striated muscles with similarly specialized sarcomeric structure and basic mechanisms of contraction and relaxation. Comparative studies examining flight muscles together with other striated muscles can provide valuable insights into the fundamental mechanisms of muscle contraction and energetic efficiency. Here, we conducted a literature review and data mining to investigate the independent emergence and evolution of flight muscles in insects, birds, and bats, and the likely molecular basis of their contractile features and energetic efficiency. Bird and bat flight muscles have different metabolic rates that reflect differences in energetic efficiencies while having similar contractile machinery that is under the selection of similar natural environments. The significantly lower efficiency of insect flight muscles along with minimized energy expenditure in Ca 2+ handling is discussed as a potential mechanism to increase the efficiency of mammalian striated muscles. A better understanding of the molecular evolution of myofilament proteins in the context of physiological functions of invertebrate and vertebrate flight muscles can help explore novel approaches to enhance the performance and efficiency of skeletal and cardiac muscles for the improvement of human health.

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Morphology of the axial skeleton of seven bat genera (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Cited by 11 publications

References 36 publications

Comparative morphology and scaling of the femur in yangochiropteran bats

Comparative morphology and scaling of the femur in yangochiropteran bats

Postcranial heterochrony, modularity, integration and disparity in the prenatal ossification in bats (Chiroptera)

Evolution of Flight Muscle Contractility and Energetic Efficiency

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