Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha)

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1 Department of Anatomy, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, United States
2 College of Dental Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, USA
3 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
4 College of Podiatric Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, United States
5 College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, United States
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.657v1
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
Kraatz BP, Bumacod N, Sherratt E, Wedel MJ. 2014. Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha) PeerJ PrePrints 2:e657v1

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.

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