Evolution and Phylogeny of the Feeding Systems of Frogs

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This research is designed to foster our understanding of the relationship between diversification of a complex structure/function system and the evolution of a lineage. The project entails a detailed morphological and phylogenetic analysis of the feeding apparatus of frogs, focusing on a set of species chosen to represent the major functional transformations that have occurred in the anuran feeding system during phylogenesis. The morphology of the musculoskeletal system, peripheral innervation, and associated motor nuclei of the hyolingual apparatus will be used to derive characters for analysis of anuran relationships and to test general and specific hypotheses of structural transformation. This project will contribute (1) important baseline data for biomechanical and functional analyses of feeding systems, (2) an increase in the resolution of the phylogenetic relationships of the major lineages of anurans, and (3) a general understanding of the relationship between diversification of a complex functional system and the evolution of a lineage.