Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha)
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Ecology, Zoology, Anatomy and Physiology
- Keywords
- Leporidae, Cranial morphology, locomotion
- Copyright
- © 2014 Kraatz et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2014. Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha) PeerJ PrePrints 2:e657v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.657v1
Abstract
The mammalian order Lagomorpha has been the subject of many morphometric studies aimed at understanding the relationship between form and function as it relates to locomotion, primarily in postcranial morphology. The leporid cranial skeleton, however, may also reveal information about their ecology, particularly locomotion and vision. Here we investigate the relationship between cranial shape and the degree of facial tilt with locomotion (cursoriality, saltation, and burrowing) within crown leporids. Our results suggest that facial tilt is more pronounced in cursors and saltators compared to generalists. However cranial shape does not differ significantly among these locomotor groups, nor does it differ significantly between species that burrow and those that do not.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.