Do new anatomical structures arise de novo, or do they evolve from pre-existing structures?
Advances in developmental genetics, palaeontology and evolutionary developmental …

Ray‐finned fishes (A ctinopterygii) constitute approximately half of all living vertebrate
species. A stable hypothesis of relationships among major modern lineages has emerged …

Vertebrate palaeontology is a lively field, with new discoveries reported every week... and
not only dinosaurs! This new edition reflects the international scope of vertebrate …

Wrists, ankles and digits distinguish tetrapod limbs from fins, but direct evidence on the
origin of these features has been unavailable. Here we describe the pectoral appendage of …

The tetrapod forelimb and hindlimb are serially homologous structures that share a broad
range of developmental pathways responsible for their patterning and outgrowth …

The long legs and short arms of humans are distinctive for a primate, the result of selection
acting in opposite directions on each limb at different points in our evolutionary history. This …

During development, expression of the Hoxa and Hoxd genes in zebrafish fins and mouse
limbs are regulated via a conserved chromatin structure. However, zebrafish lack certain …

Designing soft robots poses considerable challenges; automated design approaches may
be particularly appealing in this field, as they promise to optimize complex multimaterial …

The invasion of land was a pivotal event in vertebrate evolution that was associated with
major appendicular modifications. Although fossils indicate that the evolution of …

One of the most intriguing questions in vertebrate evolution is how tetrapods gained the
ability to walk on land. Although many hypotheses have been proposed, few have been …