Crocodylians evolved some of the most characteristic skulls of the animal kingdom with specializations for semiaquatic and ambush lifestyles, resulting in a feeding apparatus capable of tolerating high biomechanical loads and bite forces and a head with a derived sense of trigeminal‐nerve‐mediated touch. The mandibular symphysis accommodates these specializations being both at the end of a biomechanical lever and an antenna for sensation. Little is known about the anatomy of the crocodylian mandibular symphysis, hampering our understanding of form, function, and evolution of the joint in extant and extinct lineages. We explore mandibular symphysis anatomy of an ontogenetic series of
Living gars are a small clade of seven species that occupy an important position on the actinopterygian phylogenetic tree as members of Holostei, sister‐group to teleosts, and exhibit many plesiomorphic traits used to interpret and reconstruct early osteichthyan feeding mechanisms. Previous studies of gar feeding kinematics have focused on the ram‐based, lateral‐snapping mode of prey capture found in the narrow‐snouted
- PAR ID:
- 10372569
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Morphology
- Volume:
- 280
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 0362-2525
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1548-1570
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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