Patterns of bone development in mammals are best known from terrestrial and cursorial
groups, but there is a considerable gap in our understanding of how specializations for life …

Background High morphological diversity can occur in closely related animals when
selection favors morphologies that are subject to intrinsic biological constraints. A good …

Life underground has constrained the evolution of subterranean mammals to maximize
digging performance. However, the mechanisms modulating morphological change and …

A major interest of evolutionary biologists is to understand which environmental features are
associated with morphological and behavioural characteristics of species. Intraspecific …

The patterns of bone modeling and mineral mobilization (skeletal homeostasis) among
mammals other than humans and laboratory rodents are still poorly known. In this study we …

The burrowing adaptations of the appendicular system of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae)
have been comparatively less investigated than their cranial adaptations. Because …

We explored the distribution of tooth-and scratch-digging specializations in species of the
subterranean rodent Ctenomys (tuco-tucos) from diverse environments and representing …

Kangaroos (Macropodoidea) display a diversity of locomotor modes, from bounding
quadrupedally to hop** bipedally; but hop** has a body mass limit, which was …

Divergence in forelimb morphology is often associated with functional habits exhibited within
the Xenarthra, ranging from terrestrial-digging in armadillos to arboreal-suspension in …

Background Subterranean mammals show a suite of musculoskeletal adaptations that
enables efficient digging. However, little is known about their development. We assessed …