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Forelimb Posture During Walking of Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis Macularius) Using 3-D Optical Tracking: A Pilot Study On A Basal Terrestrial Lizard
Forelimb Posture During Walking of Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis Macularius) Using 3-D Optical Tracking: A Pilot Study On A Basal Terrestrial Lizard
Forelimb Posture During Walking of Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis Macularius) Using 3-D Optical Tracking: A Pilot Study On A Basal Terrestrial Lizard
Terrestrial Lizard
Bader, C., Barnes, C., Rodrigues, C., Shulman, J., Bonnan, M.F.
Introduction
Lizard locomotion is well-studied However, fewer studies focus on lizard forelimbs How do sprawling forelimbs move in 3-D? Goal: examine forelimb movements in a basal lizard clade
Hypothesis
During forelimb locomotion, the elbow of the leopard gecko, a basal terrestrial lizard, will remain significantly abducted e.g. Gray (1968). To quantify this, we assume that abduction angles of >45 are significant.
Sunny
Ralph Conan
Model in motion
2 4 3
3
1 2
Ventral view
Discussion
The elbow was found to be less abducted than hypothesized for roughly 75% of the step cycle. We reject our initial hypothesis that the elbow of the leopard gecko, a basal terrestrial lizard, will remain significantly abducted
Discussion
Our work supports previous trends reported for lizard forelimb movements (e.g., Jenkins and Goslow 1983) Elbow abduction during the support phase does drop below 45 but increases significantly during the swing phase More gecko data needed Will this trend continue across lizard phylogeny?
Acknowledgments
Dr. Matthew Bonnan Dr. Jason Shulman Richard Stockton College IACUC John Rokita and animal staff at RSC Funding: RSC Research & Professional Development Grant to M. Bonnan RSC School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics (NAMS) Dean Dennis Weiss Other members of the BFF lab Special thanks to the organizers of NERVES
References
Pough, H.; Janis, C.; Heiser, J. 2009. Vertebrate Life: Eighth Edition, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, p. 330-339 http://www.naturalpoint.com/optitrack/products/v120-trio/ Fuller, P., Higham, T., Clark, A., 2011, Posture, speed, and habitat structure: three-dimensional hindlimb kinematics of two species of padless geckos, Zoology, v. 114, Issue 2, April 2011, p. 104-112 Kluge, A. 1987. Cladistic Relationships in the Gekkonoidea, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 64 p. Reilly, M., McElroy, E., Odum, R., Hornyak, V., 2006, Tuataras and salamanders show that walking and running mechanics are ancient features of tetrapod locomotion, Proc. R. Soc. B 2006 273, 1563-1568 Jenkins, F., Goslow, G. E., The Functional Anatomy of the Shoulder of the Savannah Monitor Lizard (Varanus exanthematicus), Journal of Morphology, 1983, 175:195-216 Bauman, J., Chang, Y., High speed X-ray video demonstrates significant skin movement errors with standard optical kinematics during rat locomotion, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 2010, 186:18-24