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ABSTRACT Comparing patterns of performance and kinematics across behavior, development and phylogeny is crucial to understand the evolution of complex musculoskeletal systems such as the feeding apparatus. However, conveying 3D spatial data of muscle orientation throughout a feeding cycle, ontogenetic pathway or phylogenetic lineage is essential to understanding the function and evolution of the skull in vertebrates. Here, we detail the use of ternary plots for displaying and comparing the 3D orientation of muscle data. First, we illustrate changes in 3D jaw muscle resultants during jaw closing taxa the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Second, we show changes in 3D muscle resultants of jaw muscles across an ontogenetic series of alligators. Third, we compare 3D resultants of jaw muscles of avian-line dinosaurs, including extant (Struthio camelus, Gallus gallus, Psittacus erithacus) and extinct (Tyrannosaurus rex) species to outline the reorganization of jaw muscles that occurred along the line to modern birds. Finally, we compare 3D resultants of jaw muscles of the hard-biting species in our sample (A. mississippiensis, T. rex, P. erithacus) to illustrate how disparate jaw muscle resultants are employed in convergent behaviors in archosaurs. Our findings show that these visualizations of 3D components of jaw muscles are immensely helpful towards identifying patterns of cranial performance, growth and diversity. These tools will prove useful for testing other hypotheses in functional morphology, comparative biomechanics, ecomorphology and organismal evolution.
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Computational Approaches and Observer Variation in the 3D Musculoskeletal Modeling of the Heads of Anolis
Synopsis High-resolution imaging, 3D modeling, and quantitative analyses are equipping evolutionary biologists with new approaches to understanding the variation and evolution of the musculoskeletal system. However, challenges with interpreting DiceCT data and higher order use of modeled muscles have not yet been fully explored, and the error in and accuracy of some digital methods remain unclear. West Indian Anolis lizards are a model clade for exploring patterns in functional adaptation, ecomorphology, and sexual size dimorphism in vertebrates. These lizards possess numerous jaw muscles with potentially different anatomies that sculpt the adductor chamber of the skull. Here we test approaches to quantifying the musculoskeletal shape of the heads of two species of Anolis: A. pulchellus and A. sagrei. We employ comparative approaches such as DiceCT segmentation of jaw muscles, 3D surface attachment mapping, and 3D landmarking with the aim of exploring muscle volumes, 3D muscle fiber architecture, and sexual dimorphism of the skull. We then compare sources of measurement error in these 3D analyses while also presenting new 3D musculoskeletal data from the Anolis feeding apparatus. These findings demonstrate the accessibility and repeatability of these emerging techniques as well as provide details regarding the musculoskeletal anatomy of the heads of A. pulchellus and A. sagrei which show potential for further research of comparative biomechanics and evolution in the clade.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2242732
- PAR ID:
- 10504579
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Integrative Organismal Biology
- Volume:
- 6
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2517-4843
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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