... between safety over efficiency extend to non-mammalian tetrapods ( Byrnes and Jayne, 2014 ). In light of these findings, we argue that anatomical features associated with climbing should primarily be characterized by autopodial adaptations to increase stability. Such mechanisms involve changes...

... are ancestral for gnathostomes during benthic walking and could be both lost and gained during subsequent gnathostome evolution. We were unable to reconstruct the presence/absence of asymmetrical gaits at the tetrapod, amniote, turtle and crocodilian nodes with certainty. The ability to adopt asymmetrical gaits...

... to their different biomechanical functions, providing insight into the emergence of novel locomotor capabilities during the invasion of land by tetrapods. * Author for correspondence ( [email protected] ) Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests. 10 6 2015...

... of moist paper towels, and maintained on a diet of crickets. To advance our knowledge of trunk muscle function in tetrapod locomotion,we examined the electromyographic activity of seven trunk muscles at two sites along the trunk of Ambystoma maculatum , during swimming and during trotting...

... of the hypaxial musculo-skeletal system. The various mechanisms by which the hypaxial musculo-skeletal system elicits breathing have received considerable attention and have been well characterized in tetrapods. In contrast, the role that this system plays in terrestrial locomotion is poorly understood...

... evolution of terrestriality in early tetrapods. After recordings had been made, animals were killed with an overdose of MS222, and electrode positions were confirmed by radiography and dissection. Animals were videotaped at 60 fields s −1 with a 1/1000 s high-speed shutter (Panasonic PV330 video...

...D. Carrier ABSTRACT The role that the hypaxial muscles play in locomotion has been largely ignored by biologists. In tetrapods, there are at least three possibilities. First, the hypaxial muscles might bend the trunk laterally to increase stride length. Second, they might stabilize the trunk...