Fred Ruhe
Well-known member
Min Wang & Zonghe Zhou, 2023
Low morphological disparity and decelerated rate of limb size evolution close to the origin of birds Evolution
Nature ecology & Evolution 1–10.
doi:10.1038/s41559-023-02091-z
Abstract:
www.nature.com
The origin of birds from theropod dinosaurs involves many changes in musculoskeletal anatomy and epidermal structures, including multiple instances of convergence and homology-related traits that contribute to the refinement of flight capability. Changes in limb sizes and proportions are important for locomotion (for example, the forelimb for bird flight); thus, understanding these patterns is central to investigating the transition from terrestrial to volant theropods. Here we analyse the patterns of morphological disparity and the evolutionary rate of appendicular limbs along avialan stem lineages using phylogenetic comparative approaches. Contrary to the traditional wisdom that an evolutionary innovation like flight would promote and accelerate evolvability, our results show a shift to low disparity and decelerated rate near the origin of avialans that is largely ascribed to the evolutionarily constrained forelimb. These results suggest that natural selection shaped patterns of limb evolution close to the origin of avialans in a way that may reflect the winged forelimb ‘blueprint’ associated with powered flight.
Enjoy,
Fred
Low morphological disparity and decelerated rate of limb size evolution close to the origin of birds Evolution
Nature ecology & Evolution 1–10.
doi:10.1038/s41559-023-02091-z
Abstract:
Low morphological disparity and decelerated rate of limb size evolution close to the origin of birds - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Analysing patterns of morphological disparity and the evolutionary rate of appendicular limbs across theropods, the authors show lower disparity and decelerated rates of forelimb size evolution, which may have been caused by restrictions on morphospace given the requirements for powered flight.
www.nature.com
The origin of birds from theropod dinosaurs involves many changes in musculoskeletal anatomy and epidermal structures, including multiple instances of convergence and homology-related traits that contribute to the refinement of flight capability. Changes in limb sizes and proportions are important for locomotion (for example, the forelimb for bird flight); thus, understanding these patterns is central to investigating the transition from terrestrial to volant theropods. Here we analyse the patterns of morphological disparity and the evolutionary rate of appendicular limbs along avialan stem lineages using phylogenetic comparative approaches. Contrary to the traditional wisdom that an evolutionary innovation like flight would promote and accelerate evolvability, our results show a shift to low disparity and decelerated rate near the origin of avialans that is largely ascribed to the evolutionarily constrained forelimb. These results suggest that natural selection shaped patterns of limb evolution close to the origin of avialans in a way that may reflect the winged forelimb ‘blueprint’ associated with powered flight.
Enjoy,
Fred
