The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) cervical vertebral column: a heuristic example in understanding evolutionary processes?
The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) cervical vertebral column: a heuristic example in understanding evolutionary processes?
复制标题
DOI：
10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00458.x
复制
发表时间：
2009-03-01
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Manger, Paul R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Badlangana, N. Ludo;Adams, Justin W.;Manger, Paul R.
目前的研究认为，骨骼形态学的长颈鹿（长颈鹿camelopardalis）脊柱，与其他有蹄类动物相比，作为一个启发式的例子，在理解进化过程中的适应性和约束性的功能，重点评估。研究了从幼仔到成年长颈鹿的脊柱，以了解可能导致现代表型的潜在进化情景。然后将长颈鹿样本的数据与其他几种有蹄类动物的结果进行比较，包括霍加皮和两种骆驼科动物，它们也有明显的细长脖子。我们的研究结果表明，现代长颈鹿的细长脖子似乎是由影响七个颈椎的进化变化引起的，与脊柱的其余部分无关。颈椎占长颈鹿脊柱总长度的一半以上。颈椎长度的增加似乎也受到异速生长的限制，颈部总长度的改变是由于整个颈椎系列的延长，而不是单个椎骨或椎骨子集的延长。我们把我们的研究结果的背景下，有关长颈鹿脖子的起源和进化的假设，并在更广泛的意义上的长脖子的进化。(C)2009伦敦林奈学会，林奈学会动物学杂志，2009年，155，736-757。
The current study considers the osteological morphology of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) vertebral column, with emphasis on evaluating both the adaptive and constraining features compared with other ungulates as a heuristic example in understanding evolutionary processes. Vertebral columns of giraffes varying in age from calf to adult were studied in order to understand the potential evolutionary scenarios that might have led to the modern phenotype. Data from the giraffe sample were then compared with the results from several other ungulate species, including the okapi and two species of camelids that also have visibly elongated necks. Our results show that the elongated neck of the modern giraffe appears to specifically result from evolutionary changes affecting the seven cervical vertebrae, independent of the remainder of the vertebral column. The cervical vertebrae comprise over half of the length of the total vertebral column in the giraffe. The increases in cervical vertebrae lengths also appear to be allometrically constrained, with alterations in the overall length of the neck resulting from the elongation of the entire cervical series, rather than from a single vertebra or subset of vertebrae. We place our results in the context of hypotheses concerning the origin and evolution of the giraffe neck, and the evolution of long necks in a broader sense. (C) 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155, 736-757.