HUTCHINSON, J.R.: 2-D quasi-static simulations of stance and gait in Tyrannosaurus and other tetrapods Could the hindlimb muscles of a massive biped such as Tyrannosaurus support the stresses of running? I report preliminary results from biomechanical computer simulations of the net muscle moments required to maintain static equilibrium during bipedal standing (with extrapolations to mid-stance […]

DRIES, L.A.: Swords, Roots and Reliability: the DNA Phylogeny of Xiphophorus revisited Since the publication of Harvey and Pagel’s book, there has been a resurgence in the use of the comparative method in evolutionary biology. This approach is critically dependent on a reliable and accurate phylogeny, thus many investigators rely on previously published phylogenies of […]

O’STEEN, S.*; EBY, S.L.; BUNCE, J.A.: Sex and speed: do courtship locomotor skills predict skills when escaping predators? The indicator theory of sexual selection suggests that mating displays can provide honest signals of good genes or condition. Locomotor performance is a good candidate for such a signal, as many mating displays include rapid locomotion, and […]

TRACY, C.R.: Geographic variation in sexual dimorphism of chuckwallas (Sauromalus obesus: Iguanidae): natural selection vs. sexual selection? Chuckwallas (Sauromalus obesus: Iguanidae) show a considerable geographic variation in adult body size and dimensions, with adults of some populations nearly twice the mass and 130% the snout-vent length of other populations. Additionally, chuckwallas show sexual dimorphism in […]

PFENNIG, K.S.: Differential Selection to Avoid Hybridization and its Role in Speciation by Reinforcement The fitness effects of hybridization critically affect the outcome of speciation. When hybridization is costly, selection favors the evolution of female preferences that reduce heterospecific matings, and, consequently, enhances reproductive isolation between species (i.e., reinforcement). When the costs of heterospecific matings […]

KUCHTA, S R: Color pattern evolution in a ring species: Does Ensatina eschscholtzii xanthoptica mimic newts (genus Taricha)? The salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii in California consists of seven subspecies distributed in a ring around the Central Valley. Transitions among adjacent subspecies are generally gradual, with the exception of two sympatric, reproductively isolated subspecies in southern California. […]

MCCAY, M.G.*; WAINWRIGHT, P.C.; DWYER, H.A.; CHEER, A.Y.; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis: New Insights Into Suction Feeding from a Computational Fluid Dynamic Model Suction feeding is the most commonly used mechanism of prey capture in fishes and other aquatic vertebrates, but little is […]

PADILLA, D.K.; State University of New York, Stony Brook: Inducible offenses in a marine snail: phenotypic plasticity in feeding structures, food preferences, and dispersal potential. Although the ecological and evolutionary consequences of inducible defenses have gained a great deal of attention by scientists, inducible offenses have had considerably less attention. Like inducible defenses, inducible offenses […]

DEAN, M.N.; MOTTA, P.J.; Univ. of S. Florida; Univ. of S. Florida: Hoover vacuums and scissor jacks: A novel jaw protrusion mechanism in batoids Protrusion of the jaws during feeding is common in members of the Batoidea (rays, skates, sawfishes and guitarfishes), members of which possess a highly modified jaw suspension. The lesser electric ray […]

BEATTY, B. L.; Howard University, Washington, DC: Cornwallius sookensis (Desmostylia, Mammalia): New Material and its Implications for Suction Feeding Cornwallius sookensis is one of the oldest known members of the extinct Order Desmostylia, a group traditionally interpreted as semiaquatic and hippo-like because of their resemblances to Hippopotamus and to their close tethytherian cousins, Moeritherium (a […]