Functional anatomy and disparity of the postcranial skeleton of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae)

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12310%2F22%3A43904625" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12310/22:43904625 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.857474/full" target="_blank" >https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.857474/full</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.857474" target="_blank" >10.3389/fevo.2022.857474</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Functional anatomy and disparity of the postcranial skeleton of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae)

Original language description

The burrowing adaptations of the appendicular system of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) have been comparatively less investigated than their cranial adaptations. Because bathyergids exhibit different digging modes (scratch-digging and chisel-tooth digging) and social systems (from solitary to highly social), they are a unique group to assess the effects of distinct biomechanical regimes and social organization on morphology. We investigated the morphological diversity and intraspecific variation of the appendicular system of a large dataset of mole-rats (n = 244) including seven species and all six bathyergid genera. Seventeen morpho-functional indices from stylopodial (femur, humerus) and zeugopodial (ulna, tibia-fibula) elements were analyzed with multivariate analysis. We hypothesized that scratch-diggers (i.e., Bathyergus) would exhibit a more specialized skeletal phenotype favoring powerful forelimb digging as compared to the chisel-tooth diggers, and that among chisel-tooth diggers, the social taxa will exhibit decreased limb bone specializations as compared to solitary taxa due to colony members sharing the costs of digging. Our results show that most bathyergids have highly specialized fossorial traits, although such specializations were not more developed in Bathyergus (or solitary species), as predicted. Most chisel tooth-diggers are equally, or more specialized than scratch-diggers. Heterocephalus glaber contrasted significantly from other bathyergids, presenting a surprisingly less specialized fossorial morphology. Our data suggests that despite our expectations, chisel-tooth diggers have a suite of appendicular adaptations that have allowed them to maximize different aspects of burrowing, including shoulder and neck support for forward force production, transport and removal of soils out of the burrow, and bidirectional locomotion. It is probably that both postcranial and cranial adaptations in bathyergids have played an important role in the successful colonization of a wide range of habitats and soil conditions within their present distribution.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10613 - Zoology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA20-10222S" target="_blank" >GA20-10222S: Phylogeny, adaptation and evolution of sociality in African mole-rats, a model group in evolutionary and biomedical research</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

ISSN

2296-701X

e-ISSN

2296-701X

Volume of the periodical

10

Issue of the periodical within the volume

OCT 20 2022

Country of publishing house

CH - SWITZERLAND

Number of pages

24

Pages from-to

nestrankovano

UT code for WoS article

000879426100001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85141174749