Publications

Locomotor evolution in synapsids involved numerous functional shifts associated with the transition from sprawled to erect limb postures on the line to therian mammals. Given that bone structure frequently reflects functional requirements, this study...

Understanding the rate of phenotypic evolution can reveal fundamental aspects of organismal evolutionary trajectories. Hence, several studies have attempted to detect the tempo of evolution for multiple organisms, although based on different data types (e...

Soft tissues, in addition to bones, are known to constrain joint mobility, yet the amount and type of influence remain underexplored. To investigate this further, we used XROMM to quantify ex vivo hip joint mobility during sequential removal of soft...

Vertebrates are unique among animals as they bear a neurocranium, which almost completely encapsulates the brain. Thus, within vertebrates, the evolution of neuroanatomical features might be tightly correlated with the evolution of their surrounding...

The tetrapod water–land transition has been studied for more than a century, but questions about the locomotor function of early tetrapod limbs still remain. The limb and girdle skeletons of stem tetrapods are morphologically distinct from those of crown...

unctional trade-offs are inherent in phenotypes due to the need to balance multiple competing selection pressures. Traditionally regarded as constraints on evolution, trade-offs have recently been reframed as facilitators of adaptation via the changing...

Actinopterygii is a major extant vertebrate group, but limited data are available for its earliest members. Here we investigate the morphology of Devonian actinopterygians, focusing on the lower jaw. We use X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to provide...

The evolution of jaws is hypothesized to have fueled radiations among vertebrates, contributing to their overwhelming success in the present day. Past work shows rapid early expansion of diversity in jaw structure in many lineages; however, the...

Skeletal joint morphology and mobility underlie movement, behavior and ecology in vertebrates. Joints can be categorized by their shape and articulation type, but such schemes might be unreliable for inferring function across the full diversity of...

The ‘sprawling-parasagittal’ postural transition is a key part of mammalian evolution, associated with sweeping reorganization of the postcranial skeleton in mammals compared to their forebears, the non-mammalian synapsids. However, disputes over forelimb...

Progress in understanding animal function has been tremendously facilitated by research conducted at field stations that provide access to locations, organisms and equipment not otherwise available in more traditional urban universities or research...

The water-to-land transition in tetrapods promoted a radical shift in locomotor function and kinematic patterns, from axial- to appendicular-dominated propulsion and from buoyancy- to musculoskeletal-driven support. Many of these facets of locomotion are...