NISHIGUCHI, M.K.*; BOLETZKY, S.v.: Enlightenment of old ideas from new investigations: The evolution of bacteriogenic light organs Bioluminescence is widespread among many different types of marine organisms. Metazoans contain two types of luminescence production: bacteriogenic (symbiotic with bacteria), or autogenic, via the production of a luminous secretion or the intrinsic properties of luminous cells. Several […]

HICKMAN, C.S.: Comparative evolutionary, functional, and developmental morphology of the gastropod sensory epithelium Detailed comparative structural and ultrastructural data provide an essential foundation for novel integrative syntheses of functional morphology, ecology, evolution, and development. Analysis of gastropod epithelial structures demonstrates the role of new data in fulfilling the promise of integrative biology. At the microanatomical […]

KIMBLE, M.*; COURSEY, Y.; AHMAD, N.; HINSCH, G.W.: Behavior of the yolk nuclei during embryogenesis, and development of the midgut diverticulum in the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Horseshoe crabs have existed for hundreds of millions of years, and have been the subject of study for decades, however there are still some significant gaps in our […]

GEIST, N. R.*; JONES, T. D.; RUBEN, J. A. ; HILLENIUS, W. J.; FREY, E. D.: Lung Ventilation Mechanisms of Pterodactyloid Pterosaurs Pteranodon and several other genera of large pterodactyloid pterosaurs (e.g. Ornithocheirus, Quetzalcoatalus) exhibit a suite of skeletal features that severely constrained costally powered expansion of the thoracic cavity. These include: a) fusion of […]

SMITH, Kathleen: J. P. Hill and Katherine Watson’s studies of neural tube and neural crest development in marsupials. In the early part of the 20th century, James P. Hill and Katherine Watson initiated a study of the early development of the nervous system in marsupials. In this study, they used Hill’s superb collection of embryos […]

SWIDERSKI, D.L.: Independence of divergence and diversification in the evolution of scapula shape in squirrels: possible evidence of the lability of constraints. Lack of morphological diversity in a clade is often taken as evidence of constraints that restrict the magnitude or direction of change. Liberation from constraints is expected to result in both divergence and […]

NORIEGA, K.C.*; REGA, E.A.: Heretofore undocumented variation of an intrinsic hand muscle in a juvenile baboon Standard anatomical references for primate anatomy focus almost exclusively on adult morphology and rarely document the range of variability within structures. Dissection of the hands of a juvenile baboon (Papio sp.) demonstrates an accessory head to the m. opponens […]

HOMBERGER, D.G.: Functional Morphology of a Predator-Prey relationship: Australian Cockatoos and Woody Fruits A fresh analysis of the unique structure of the psittaciform quadrato-mandibular joint shows that this joint prevents a protraction of the mandible (in contrast to earlier interpretations), but allows lateral movements. Paradoxically, most parrots and cockatoos, which possess a psittaciform bill, do […]

SEARS, Karen: Adult morphological variation in mammalian limbs: Evidence for evolutionary constraint? Marsupials compose only six percent of living mammals and occupy a limited set of ecological niches. Traditionally, it has been assumed that low marsupial diversity is due their unique mode of reproduction constraining their evolution. Immediately after birth, marsupials, using only their precociously […]

DICKEY, B. F.*: Quantification of ‘Consistency’ in Social Interactions Studies of social behavior use a consensus definition of social dominance: a dominant animal consistently wins interactions against another. A sequence of interaction outcomes is consistent if 1) an animal wins a great majority of the interactions, or 2) neither animal wins a great majority but […]