DEBAN, S.M.*; O’REILLY, J.C.; NISHIKAWA, K.C.: The evolution of the motor control of feeding in amphibians. We compared prey capture among salamanders, frogs and caecilians in a phylogenetic context to identify major evolutionary transitions of the motor control of amphibian feeding. The common ancestor of living amphibians was most likely a predator with a free-living […]

KLEY, N.J.: The evolution of prey transport mechanisms in snakes Three fundamental modes of intraoral prey transport are recognized within Squamata. Lizards use either hyolingual or inertial transport mechanisms, both of which involve bilaterally symmetrical jaw movements. In contrast, most snakes exhibit a unilateral jaw-ratcheting mechanism that is characterized by asymmetrical jaw movements. Given the […]

HERREL, A.*; MEYERS, J.J.; NISHIKAWA, K.C.; DE VREE, F.: The evolution of feeding motor patterns in lizards: modulatory complexity and constraints. Previous research indicated that the evolution of feeding motor patterns across major taxonomic groups might have occurred without large modifications of the control of the jaw and hyolingual muscles. However, the proposal of this […]

Grubich, J.R.: Prey Capture in Actinopterygian Fishes: A review of suction feeding motor patterns with new evidence from an Elopomorph fish: Megalops atlanticus Suction feeding has long been recognized as the dominant mode of prey capture among ray-finned fishes. Elshoud-Oldenhave and Osse (1976) first proposed a triphasic sequence of the suction feeding strike: 1) a […]

Fetcho, J.R.: New approaches to the function of neuronal circuits that might simplify (a little) studies of the evolution of behavior. Understanding motor patterns (electromyograms) and their evolution requires understanding the neuronal circuits that produce them and the evolutionary changes in those circuits. This is not easy, which is perhaps why there are not many […]

LANGENBACH, G.E.J.: Mammalian feeding In mammals, basic symmetrical food transport cycles have been described for lapping and soft food ingestion. To increase chewing efficiency a unilateral occlusal motion has been evolved replacing the slow closing phase in the basic cycle. This power stroke is preceded by fast opening and closing phases increasing the gape. Jaw […]

AERTS, P.*; VAN DAMME, J.; HERREL, A.: Intrinsic mechanics and control of fast cranio-cervical movements in aquatic feeding turtles Aquatic feeding strikes on agile prey in snake-necked turtles involves fast neck extension, bucco-pharyngo-oesophageal expansion and head retraction. The ultimate, rectilinear acceleration of the head towards the prey requires complex vertebral rotations, largely differing from strike […]

NISHIKAWA, K.C.: Feeding motor patterns: Insights from biomechanical modeling. Biomechanical modeling and empirical studies in my laboratory over the past ten years have produced a number of insights into activation patterns of tongue and jaw muscles during feeding in frogs. One insight from empirical work, confirmed by biomechanical modeling, is that activation patterns of antagonistic […]

WILGA, C.D.*; HUETER, R.E.; WAINWRIGHT, P.C.; MOTTA, P.J.: FUNCTION AND EVOLUTION OF UPPER JAW PROTRUSION MECHANISMS IN ELASMOBRANCHS Upper jaw protrusion is an important component of the feeding mechanism in most elasmobranchs. To quantify the mechanics of feeding, particularly those of upper jaw protrusion, in four diverse species of elasmobranchs we used anatomical dissection, electromyography […]

VANDERLEEUW, A.H.J.*; BOUT, R.G.; ZWEERS, G.A.: Control of the cranio-cervical system during feeding in birds. The avian neck is a complex, kinematically redundant system, that plays a role during i.a. food prehension and manipulation. The kinematic redundancy is resolved by movement principles, e.g., Fowl move their necks according to a geometric principle that maximizes rotation […]