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Climbing adaptation...
Climbing adaptations, locomotory disparity and ecological convergence in ancient stem 'kangaroos'
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- Den Boer, Wendy (author)
- Uppsala universitet,Paleobiologi,Swedish Nat Hist Museum, Dept Palaeobiol, S-10405 Stockholm, Sweden
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- Campione, Nicolás E., 1982- (author)
- Uppsala universitet,Paleobiologi,Evolution och utvecklingsbiologi,Univ New England, Palaeosci Res Ctr, Sch Environm & Rural Sci, Armidale, NSW 2531, Australia
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- Kear, Benjamin P., 1975- (author)
- Uppsala universitet,Evolutionsmuseet
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(creator_code:org_t)
- 2019-02-06
- 2019
- English.
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In: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 6:2
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Abstract
Subject headings
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- Living kangaroos, wallabies and rat-kangaroos (Macropodoidea) constitute the most ecologically diverse radiation of Australasian marsupials. Indeed, even their hallmark bipedal hopping gait has been variously modified for bounding, walking and climbing. However, the origins of this locomotory adaptability are uncertain because skeletons of the most ancient macropodoids are exceptionally rare. Some of the stratigraphically oldest fossils have been attributed to Balbaridae-a clade of potentially quadrupedal stem macropodoids that became extinct during the late Miocene. Here we undertake the first assessment of balbarid locomotion using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics and a correlative multivariate analysis of linear measurements. We selected the astragalus and pedal digit IV ungual as proxies for primary gait because these elements are preserved in the only articulated balbarid skeleton, as well as some unusual early Miocene balbarid-like remains that resemble the bones of modern tree-kangaroos. Our results show that these fossils manifest character states indicative of contrasting locomotory capabilities. Furthermore, predictive modelling reveals similarities with extant macropodoids that employ either bipedal saltation and/or climbing. We interpret this as evidence for archetypal gait versatility, which probably integrated higher-speed hopping with slower-speed quadrupedal progression and varying degrees of scansoriality as independent specializations for life in forest and woodland settings.
Subject headings
- NATURVETENSKAP -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Annan geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)
- NATURAL SCIENCES -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)
Keyword
- Macropodoidea
- Balbaridae
- Nambaroo
- Dendrolagus
- gait evolution
- Miocene
Publication and Content Type
- ref (subject category)
- art (subject category)
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