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Locomoting into New Niches: Limbs, Ecology, and Evolution in Mustelid Mammals Project ID: 00000C674 Public
184 Media · 40 Specimens · Managed by: Brandon Kilbourne

A pivotal aspect of locomotion in limbed vertebrates is that the limb bones must be able to withstand the forces incurred during locomotion while transmitting the forces generated by limb muscles. The morphology of a limb bone is intimately tied to its mechanical loading regime, and, as such, long bone morphology should reflect ecological specializations. Using museum specimens, this project measures traits associated with bone internal structure, including bone cross-sectional area (CSA), second moment of area (SMA), and section modulus (MOD). CSA and SMA provide the bone’s resistance to axial and bending loads, respectively. Though bone cross-sectional properties have been studied in terms of interspecific scaling relationships or during the ontogeny of individual species, it has yet to be investigated how bone cross-sectional properties vary within a functionally diverse lineage. Moreover, it also remains unknown if bone cross-sectional traits are subject to distinct selective pressures as lineages evolve new locomotor habits. Given the locomotor diversity of mustelid mammals, including climbing, digging, and swimming specialists, this project investigates whether bone cross-sectional properties differ among locomotor habit further fitting cross-sectional properties to models of trait diversification.

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List of media items in this team
  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000497564 Femur zmb:mam:30682 Aonyx cinerea Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Open Download  
000497554 Ulna zmb:mam:64146 Mustela putorius Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Restricted Download  
000497546 Radius zmb:mam:64146 Mustela putorius Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Restricted Download  
000497531 Humerus zmb:mam:64146 Mustela putorius Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Restricted Download  
000497518 Fibula zmb:mam:64146 Mustela putorius Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Restricted Download  
000497509 Tibia zmb:mam:64146 Mustela putorius Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Restricted Download  
000497492 Femur zmb:mam:64146 Mustela putorius Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-17 Restricted Download  
000496955 Tibia zmb:mam:77869 Martes martes Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-15 Open Download  
000496948 Fibula zmb:mam:77869 Martes martes Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-15 Open Download  
000496938 Femur zmb:mam:77869 Martes martes Volumetric Image Series 2023-02-15 Open Download  
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