How Mammals Move: Locomotory Function in the Soricidae
The Challenge: The postcranial skeletons of mammals exhibit tremendous variation in form that partly relates to phylogeny (who a particular species is related to) and partly to locomotory function (how that species moves through its environment). Understanding the contributions of these two factors is important because phylogenetic characters assist in working out evolutionary relationships, whereas locomotory adaptations help to determine how a species interacts with its environment.
The Science: There is surprising diversity in the postcranial skeletons of shrews (Soricidae), and, with the assistance of numerous students, I have been investigating locomotory functions in North American and African shrews, initially as they related to adaptations for moving at the soil surface vs. those for digging. We have discovered that these are not discrete states, but that skeletons of various species present a continuum of grades of adaptation. By mapping adaptations for digging on molecular phylogenies, we found that similar adaptations for digging have evolved within the family numerous times.
The Future: The database for digging shrews is expanding to include Asian and additional North American taxa. Research is now also focusing on adaptations for other modes of locomotion in shrews, such as swimming and climbing.
Below are publications associated with this project.
See how they ran: Morphological and functional aspects of skeletons from ancient Egyptian shrew mummies (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae: Crocidurinae)
Functional skeletal morphology and its implications for locomotory behavior among three genera of myosoricine shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Variation in the myosoricine hand skeleton and its implications for locomotory behavior (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Can they dig it? Functional morphology and semifossoriality among small-eared shrews, genus Cryptotis (Mammalia, Soricidae)
Below are partners associated with this project.
The Challenge: The postcranial skeletons of mammals exhibit tremendous variation in form that partly relates to phylogeny (who a particular species is related to) and partly to locomotory function (how that species moves through its environment). Understanding the contributions of these two factors is important because phylogenetic characters assist in working out evolutionary relationships, whereas locomotory adaptations help to determine how a species interacts with its environment.
The Science: There is surprising diversity in the postcranial skeletons of shrews (Soricidae), and, with the assistance of numerous students, I have been investigating locomotory functions in North American and African shrews, initially as they related to adaptations for moving at the soil surface vs. those for digging. We have discovered that these are not discrete states, but that skeletons of various species present a continuum of grades of adaptation. By mapping adaptations for digging on molecular phylogenies, we found that similar adaptations for digging have evolved within the family numerous times.
The Future: The database for digging shrews is expanding to include Asian and additional North American taxa. Research is now also focusing on adaptations for other modes of locomotion in shrews, such as swimming and climbing.
Below are publications associated with this project.
See how they ran: Morphological and functional aspects of skeletons from ancient Egyptian shrew mummies (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae: Crocidurinae)
Functional skeletal morphology and its implications for locomotory behavior among three genera of myosoricine shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Variation in the myosoricine hand skeleton and its implications for locomotory behavior (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Can they dig it? Functional morphology and semifossoriality among small-eared shrews, genus Cryptotis (Mammalia, Soricidae)
Below are partners associated with this project.