Article

Developmental processes underlying the evolution of a derived foot morphology in salamanders.

Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (impact factor: 9.68). 01/2008; 104(51):20437-42. DOI:10.1073/pnas.0710216105 pp.20437-42
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Interdigital webbing has evolved repeatedly in tropical salamanders (bolitoglossines). This derived foot morphology is only one of many homoplastic traits in this diverse amphibian clade. Indeed, few if any morphological traits sort lineages within this clade. We investigate the processes underlying the homoplastic evolution of morphological characters in these salamanders by analyzing selective and developmental processes that generate interdigital webbing. We show that a pedomorphic developmental change generates the new foot morphology and that pedomorphosis affects a number of morphological traits, thus creating a developmental correlation among them. This correlation among traits is maintained across most species, thus facilitating the repeated evolution of traits. Although we find evidence that the changes in foot morphology are adaptive in one species, the evolution of webbing in all other species does not carry an adaptive signature. The new foot morphology therefore evolves repeatedly, even in the apparent absence of a direct selective advantage.

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Keywords

adaptive signature
 
apparent absence
 
bolitoglossines
 
derived foot morphology
 
developmental correlation
 
developmental processes
 
direct selective advantage
 
diverse amphibian clade
 
foot morphology
 
generate interdigital webbing
 
homoplastic evolution
 
homoplastic traits
 
morphological characters
 
morphological traits
 
morphological traits sort lineages
 
new foot morphology
 
pedomorphic developmental change
 
processes
 
repeated evolution
 
tropical salamanders