Groups keyboard shortcuts have been updated
Dismiss
See shortcuts
Ichthyostega body plan (free pdf)
41 views
Skip to first unread message
Ben Creisler
Apr 19, 2025, 5:53:59 PMApr 19
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Free pdf:
Catherine R.C. Strong, Peter J. Bishop, John R. Hutchinson & Stephanie E. Pierce (2025)
Digital volumetric modeling reveals unique body plan experimentation in the Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega
iScience 112486
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112486
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007473
Highlights
Fishes and tetrapods exhibit ‘front-heavy’ versus ‘limb-centric’ body plans.
Ichthyostega shows a unique mixture of fish- and tetrapod-like body proportions.
Mass properties of Ichthyostega support forelimb-dominated movement on substrate.
Body plan does not impact hydrostatic profile at flotational equilibrium.
Summary
The water-to-land transition in tetrapods promoted a radical shift in locomotor function and kinematic patterns, from axial- to appendicular-dominated propulsion and from buoyancy- to musculoskeletal-driven support. Many of these facets of locomotion are dictated by an animal’s whole-body mass properties, which presumably also changed across this transition. We herein use digital volumetric modeling to reconstruct mass properties in the Late Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega. In comparison to fishes and crown tetrapods, our results show that Ichthyostega possessed a uniquely ‘robust’ body plan, combining traits typical of both ‘fishes’ (anterior center-of-mass) and ‘tetrapods’ (well-developed limbs, especially forelimbs). We also find that variation in body composition has little effect on body attitude at flotational equilibrium, suggesting that whole-body ‘evolutionary tinkering’ had little impact on hydrostatic profile. These results support previous inferences of forelimb-dominated movements in Ichthyostega and highlight a hitherto underappreciated level of morphological experimentation during the tetrapod transition to land.
=======
Free pdf:
Catherine R.C. Strong, Peter J. Bishop, John R. Hutchinson & Stephanie E. Pierce (2025)
Digital volumetric modeling reveals unique body plan experimentation in the Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega
iScience 112486
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112486
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007473
Highlights
Fishes and tetrapods exhibit ‘front-heavy’ versus ‘limb-centric’ body plans.
Ichthyostega shows a unique mixture of fish- and tetrapod-like body proportions.
Mass properties of Ichthyostega support forelimb-dominated movement on substrate.
Body plan does not impact hydrostatic profile at flotational equilibrium.
Summary
The water-to-land transition in tetrapods promoted a radical shift in locomotor function and kinematic patterns, from axial- to appendicular-dominated propulsion and from buoyancy- to musculoskeletal-driven support. Many of these facets of locomotion are dictated by an animal’s whole-body mass properties, which presumably also changed across this transition. We herein use digital volumetric modeling to reconstruct mass properties in the Late Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega. In comparison to fishes and crown tetrapods, our results show that Ichthyostega possessed a uniquely ‘robust’ body plan, combining traits typical of both ‘fishes’ (anterior center-of-mass) and ‘tetrapods’ (well-developed limbs, especially forelimbs). We also find that variation in body composition has little effect on body attitude at flotational equilibrium, suggesting that whole-body ‘evolutionary tinkering’ had little impact on hydrostatic profile. These results support previous inferences of forelimb-dominated movements in Ichthyostega and highlight a hitherto underappreciated level of morphological experimentation during the tetrapod transition to land.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages