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Iijima M, Mayerl CJ, Munteanu VD, Blob RW. Forelimb muscle activation patterns in American alligators: Insights into the evolution of limb posture and powered flight in archosaurs. J Anat 2024; 244:943-958. [PMID: 38242862 PMCID: PMC11095314 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The evolution of archosaurs provides an important context for understanding the mechanisms behind major functional transformations in vertebrates, such as shifts from sprawling to erect limb posture and the acquisition of powered flight. While comparative anatomy and ichnology of extinct archosaurs have offered insights into musculoskeletal and gait changes associated with locomotor transitions, reconstructing the evolution of motor control requires data from extant species. However, the scarcity of electromyography (EMG) data from the forelimb, especially of crocodylians, has hindered understanding of neuromuscular evolution in archosaurs. Here, we present EMG data for nine forelimb muscles from American alligators during terrestrial locomotion. Our aim was to investigate the modulation of motor control across different limb postures and examine variations in motor control across phylogeny and locomotor modes. Among the nine muscles examined, m. pectoralis, the largest forelimb muscle and primary shoulder adductor, exhibited significantly smaller mean EMG amplitudes for steps in which the shoulder was more adducted (i.e., upright). This suggests that using a more adducted limb posture helps to reduce forelimb muscle force and work during stance. As larger alligators use a more adducted shoulder and hip posture, the sprawling to erect postural transition that occurred in the Triassic could be either the cause or consequence of the evolution of larger body size in archosaurs. Comparisons of EMG burst phases among tetrapods revealed that a bird and turtle, which have experienced major musculoskeletal transformations, displayed distinctive burst phases in comparison to those from an alligator and lizard. These results support the notion that major shifts in body plan and locomotor modes among sauropsid lineages were associated with significant changes in muscle activation patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaya Iijima
- Structure and Motion Lab, Department of Comparative Biomedical SciencesThe Royal Veterinary CollegeHertfordshireUK
- Nagoya University MuseumNagoyaJapan
| | | | - V. David Munteanu
- Department of Biological SciencesClemson UniversityClemsonSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Richard W. Blob
- Department of Biological SciencesClemson UniversityClemsonSouth CarolinaUSA
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2
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Houssaye A, Etienne C, Gallic Y, Rocchia F, Chaves-Jacob J. How can research on modern and fossil bones help us build more resistant columns? BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2024; 19:036007. [PMID: 38452389 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ad311f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Bone is an economical material. Indeed, as moving a heavy skeleton is energetically costly, the vertebrate skeleton is adapted to maximise resistance to the stresses imposed with a minimum amount of material, so that bone tissue is deposited where it is needed. Using bone as a source of inspiration should therefore reduce the manufacturing cost (both financial and ecological) and increase the strength (and lifespan) of bioinspired (BI) structures. This study proposes to investigate which adaptive features of the outer shape and inner structure of bone, related to compressive strength, could be used to build BI support structures. To do so, we explain the choice of the bones to be analysed and present the results of the biomechanical analyses (finite element analysis) carried out on virtual models built from the structures of the different bone models and of the mechanical tests carried out on 3D-printed versions of these models. The compressive strength of these direct bone BI columns was compared with each other, and with those of a conventional filled cylindrical column, and of a cylindrical column whose internal structure is BI from the radius of the white rhinoceros. The results of our comparative analyses highlight that the shape of long bones is less effective than a cylinder in resisting compression but underline the relevance in designing BI cylindrical columns with heterogeneous structures inspired by the radius of the white rhinoceros and the tibia of the Asian elephant, and raise the interest in studying the fossil record using the radius of the giant rhinocerotoidParaceratherium.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Houssaye
- Département Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005 Paris, France
| | - C Etienne
- Département Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Y Gallic
- Département Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005 Paris, France
| | - F Rocchia
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM, Inst Mouvement Sci, UMR, 7287 Marseille, France
| | - J Chaves-Jacob
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM, Inst Mouvement Sci, UMR, 7287 Marseille, France
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Perricone V, Grun T, Raia P, Langella C. Paleomimetics: A Conceptual Framework for a Biomimetic Design Inspired by Fossils and Evolutionary Processes. Biomimetics (Basel) 2022; 7:biomimetics7030089. [PMID: 35892359 PMCID: PMC9326541 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics7030089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In biomimetic design, functional systems, principles, and processes observed in nature are used for the development of innovative technical systems. The research on functional features is often carried out without giving importance to the generative mechanism behind them: evolution. To deeply understand and evaluate the meaning of functional morphologies, integrative structures, and processes, it is imperative to not only describe, analyse, and test their behaviour, but also to understand the evolutionary history, constraints, and interactions that led to these features. The discipline of palaeontology and its approach can considerably improve the efficiency of biomimetic transfer by analogy of function; additionally, this discipline, as well as biology, can contribute to the development of new shapes, textures, structures, and functional models for productive and generative processes useful in the improvement of designs. Based on the available literature, the present review aims to exhibit the potential contribution that palaeontology can offer to biomimetic processes, integrating specific methodologies and knowledge in a typical biomimetic design approach, as well as laying the foundation for a biomimetic design inspired by extinct species and evolutionary processes: Paleomimetics. A state of the art, definition, method, and tools are provided, and fossil entities are presented as potential role models for technical transfer solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Perricone
- Department of Engineering, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Roma 29, 81031 Aversa, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Tobias Grun
- Department of Invertebrate Palaeontology, University of Florida, Florida Museum, Dickinson Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, University of Naples Federico II, Via Vicinale Cupa Cintia 26, 80126 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Carla Langella
- Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via San Lorenzo, 81031 Aversa, Italy;
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4
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Natterson-Horowitz B, Baccouche BM, Mary J, Shivkumar T, Bertelsen MF, Aalkjær C, Smerup MH, Ajijola OA, Hadaya J, Wang T. Did giraffe cardiovascular evolution solve the problem of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction? EVOLUTION MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 9:248-255. [PMID: 34447575 PMCID: PMC8385250 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoab016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The evolved adaptations of other species can be a source of insight for novel biomedical innovation. Limitations of traditional animal models for the study of some pathologies are fueling efforts to find new approaches to biomedical investigation. One emerging approach recognizes the evolved adaptations in other species as possible solutions to human pathology. The giraffe heart, for example, appears resistant to pathology related to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)—a leading form of hypertension-associated cardiovascular disease in humans. Here, we postulate that the physiological pressure-induced left ventricular thickening in giraffes does not result in the pathological cardiovascular changes observed in humans with hypertension. The mechanisms underlying this cardiovascular adaptation to high blood pressure in the giraffe may be a bioinspired roadmap for preventive and therapeutic strategies for human HFpEF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Natterson-Horowitz
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Division of Cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Basil M Baccouche
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jennifer Mary
- Zoobiquity Research Initiative at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
| | | | | | | | - Morten H Smerup
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Olujimi A Ajijola
- UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Joseph Hadaya
- UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tobias Wang
- Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Jagielska N, Brusatte SL. Pterosaurs. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R984-R989. [PMID: 34428416 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
150 million years ago, an animal no bigger than a herring gull soared above shallow lagoons in what is now Bavaria. It had obscenely long fingers on each hand, which anchored thin wings of skin, and long toothy jaws, perfectly suited to snatching squids and fishes from the warm waters. Our animal was probably doing just that before its untimely death. For one reason or another, the creature crashed into the water and sank to its anoxic depths, where it was eventually buried by layers of lime. The animal fossilised with sprawled arms and jaws agape - as if in shock and disbelief.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Jagielska
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK.
| | - Stephen L Brusatte
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
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Baumgart SL, Sereno PC, Westneat MW. Wing Shape in Waterbirds: Morphometric Patterns Associated with Behavior, Habitat, Migration, and Phylogenetic Convergence. Integr Org Biol 2021; 3:obab011. [PMID: 34381962 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obab011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Wing shape plays a critical role in flight function in birds and other powered fliers and has been shown to be correlated with flight performance, migratory distance, and the biomechanics of generating lift during flight. Avian wing shape and flight mechanics have also been shown to be associated with general foraging behavior and habitat choice. We aim to determine if wing shape in waterbirds, a functionally and ecologically diverse assemblage united by their coastal and aquatic habitats, is correlated with various functional and ecological traits. We applied geometric morphometric approaches to the spread wings of a selection of waterbirds to search for evolutionary patterns between wing shape and foraging behavior, habitat, and migratory patterns. We found strong evidence of convergent evolution of high and low aspect ratio wing shapes in multiple clades. Foraging behavior also consistently exhibits strong evolutionary correlations with wing shape. Habitat, migration, and flight style, in contrast, do not exhibit significant correlation with wing shape in waterbirds. Although wing shape is critical to aerial flight function, its relationship to habitat and periodic locomotor demands such as migration is complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Baumgart
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 E, 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Paul C Sereno
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 E, 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.,Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1027 E, 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Mark W Westneat
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 E, 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.,Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1027 E, 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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