Journal Title
Title of Journal: Evol Biol
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Abbravation: Evolutionary Biology
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Authors: João Francisco Botelho Daniel SmithParedes Alexander O Vargas
Publish Date: 2015/06/29
Volume: 42, Issue: 4, Pages: 502-510
Abstract
Specialized morphologies of bird feet have evolved several times independently as different groups have become zygodactyl semizygodactyl heterodactyl pamprodactyl or syndactyl Birds have also convergently evolved similar modes of development in a spectrum that goes from precocial to altricial Using the new context provided by recent molecular phylogenies we compared the evolution of foot morphology and modes of development among extant avian families Variations in the arrangement of toes with respect to the anisodactyl ancestral condition have occurred only in altricial groups Those groups represent four independent events of superaltriciality and many independent transformations of toe arrangements at least four zygodactyl three semizygodactyl one heterodactyl one pamprodactyl group and several syndactyl We propose that delayed skeletal maturation due to altriciality facilitates the epigenetic influence of embryonic muscular activity over developing toes allowing for repeated evolution of innovations in their morphology
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