...Derek J. Jurestovsky; Bruce C. Jayne; Henry C. Astley ABSTRACT Variation in joint shape and soft tissue can alter range of motion (ROM) and create trade-offs between stability and flexibility. The shape of the distinctive zygosphene–zygantrum joint of snake vertebrae has been hypothesized...

... vertebral trabecular bone mechanical properties (yield strength, stiffness and toughness) throughout development in Florida manatees ( Trichechus manatus latirostris ), obligate undulatory swimmers. Thoracic, lumbar and caudal vertebrae were dissected from manatees ( N =20) during necropsies. We extracted 6...

...Daniel R. Huber; Danielle E. Neveu; Charlotte M. Stinson; Paul A. Anderson; Ilze K. Berzins SUMMARY Approximately 35% of sand tiger sharks ( Carcharias taurus ) in public aquaria exhibit spinal deformities ranging from compressed vertebrae and loss of intervertebral space to dislocated spines...

... in the length of their lumbar spines. The lumbar vertebrae were the only skeletal structures that exhibited this puberty-like growth. After colony separation, body mass and lumbar vertebrae growth rates peaked and remained elevated for several weeks before returning to control levels –suggestive of a puberty...

...J. H. Long, Jr; T. J. Koob; K. Irving; K. Combie; V. Engel; N. Livingston; A. Lammert; J. Schumacher SUMMARY For early vertebrates, a long-standing hypothesis is that vertebrae evolved as a locomotor adaptation, stiffening the body axis and enhancing swimming performance. While supported...

... also performed dynamic bending tests on intervertebral segments from the lumbo-caudal joint and the joint between caudal vertebrae 7 and 8. Dynamic bending stiffness (N m rad −1 ) increases with increasing bending amplitude and is independent of bending frequency. Damping coefficient (kg m 2 rad −2 s...