About
224
Publications
45,355
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
2,549
Citations
Publications
Publications (224)
In this chapter we describe computer-based tomographic methods using
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray absorption as well as Xray
phase-contrast imaging techniques. These are based on refraction and
near-field diffraction of X-rays and are gaining increased attention due to
the increase in sensitivity they offer over conventional, attenuat...
Acoustic communication is widespread in animals. According to the sensory drive hypothesis [Endler JA (1993) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 340(1292):215-225], communication signals and perceptual systems have coevolved. A clear illustration of this is the evolution of the tetrapod middle ear, adapted to life on land. Here we report the discove...
Atelopus franciscus is a diurnal bufonid frog that lives in South-American tropical rain forests. As in many other frogs, males produce calls to defend their territories and attract females. However, this species is a so-called "earless" frog lacking an external tympanum and is thus anatomically deaf. Moreover, A. franciscus has no external vocal s...
Controlled aerial descent has evolved many times independently in vertebrates. Squamates (lizards and snakes) are unusual in that respect due to the large number of independent origins of the evolution of this behavior. Although some squamates such as flying geckos of the genus Ptychozoon and the flying dragons of the genus Draco show obvious adapt...
Chamaeleons are well known for their unique suite of morphological adaptations. Whereas most chamaeleons are arboreal and have long tails, which are used during arboreal acrobatic manoeuvres, Malagasy dwarf chamaeleons (Brookesia) are small terrestrial lizards with relatively short tails. Like other chamaeleons, Brookesia have grasping feet and use...
Natural history museum collections hold extremely rare, extinct species often described from a single known specimen. On occasions, rediscoveries open new opportunities to understand selective forces acting on phenotypic traits. Recent rediscovery of few individuals of Bocourt´s Terrific Skink Phoboscincus bocourti , from a small and remote islet i...
The few works on audition in sharks and rays concern only adult specimens. We report the hearing abilities in the dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula at different stages, from embryos that still have their yolk sac inside their egg, to juveniles. Hearing development corresponds to an increase in the frequency range from 100−300 Hz in early pre‐hatching s...
We here present the first detailed study of the specimen KNM-RU 18340 from Rusinga Island (Kenya), the only known complete early Miocene chameleon skull, using micro-CT. This specimen represents one of the oldest chameleon fossils ever recovered. For the first time, the skull bone internal surfaces, their sutures, and elements contained inside the...
Bone microanatomy appears strongly linked with the ecology of organisms. In amniotes, bone mass increase is a microanatomical specialization often encountered in aquatic taxa performing long dives at shallow depths. Although previous work highlighted the rather generalist inner structure of the vertebrae in snakes utilising different habitats, micr...
ABSTRACT
Snakes of the family Dipsadidae Bonaparte, 1838 still occur on most of the Lesser Antillean islands, although they have been strongly impacted by modern and historical anthropogenic disturbances as it has been demonstrated for many squamate taxa worldwide. However, these observations mostly rely on modern assemblages, whereas the fossil re...
Amphibians are different from most other tetrapods because they have a biphasic life cycle, with larval forms showing a dramatically different cranial anatomy and feeding strategy compared to adults. Amphibians with their exceptional diversity in habitats, lifestyles and reproductive modes are also excellent models for studying the evolutionary div...
Being implied in flight, mimetism, communication, and protection, the insect wings were crucial organs
for the mega diversification of this clade. Despite several attempts, the problem of wing evolution
remains unresolved because the basal parts of the veins essential for vein identification are hidden in
the basivenal sclerites. The homologies bet...
When the same complex trait is exhibited by closely related species, a single evolutionary origin is frequently invoked. The complex stridulatory apparatus present in the forewings of extant crickets, mole crickets, katydids, and prophalangopsids, is currently interpreted as sharing a single common origin due to their similarity and unique function...
Although males and females of many sound‐producing fish species may show differences at the level of the sonic apparatus, otoliths are usually species specific having intraspecific variation only if exposed to different environmental condition or in relation with the fish size. This study reports sexual dimorphism at the level of both otolith shape...
Brain endocasts obtained from computed tomography (CT) are now widely used in the field of comparative neuroanatomy. They provide an overview of the morphology of the brain and associated tissues located in the cranial cavity. Through anatomical comparisons between species, insights on the senses, the behavior, and the lifestyle can be gained. Alth...
When the same complex trait is exhibited by closely related species, a single evolutionary origin is
frequently invoked. The complex stridulatory apparatus present in the forewings of extant crickets,
mole crickets, katydids, and prophalangopsids, is currently interpreted as sharing a single common
origin due to their similarity and unique function...
This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits can help to reconstruct the history of recently extinct taxa through the example of Pholidoscelis lizards from the Guadeloupe Islands in the French West Indies. To achieve this, we conducted a new anatomical and zooarchaeological study of fossil Pholido...
Otophysan fish are identified as a natural group and have been studied as such since the first half of the 19th century. This very speciose group largely dominates the vertebrate diversity of inland waters today. In the 1980’s passionate debates concerned the otophysan radiation and notably their primary habitat: are they primitively freshwaters or...
Barbourula busuangensis Taylor and Noble, 1924 is a poorly known basal aquatic frog from the Philippines. Here we describe some features of the head anatomy of B. busuangensis, with a focus on jaw and eye musculature and the cranial skeleton, based on 3D reconstructions from serial histological sections of a metamorphosed but not fully grown (subad...
Frogs are the most species-rich and ecologically diverse group of amphibians and are characterized by a unique body plan including long legs, elongated ilia, and fused caudal vertebrae. Stem anurans such as Triadobatrachus or Czatkobatrachus have been suggested to have used jumping or hopping as part of their locomotor repertoire based on their ana...
The head is a complex integrated system that is implicated in many vital functions. As such its morphology is impacted by different and sometimes conflicting demands. Consequently, head shape varies greatly depending on the environment and dietary ecology of an organism. Moreover, given its role in territory defence and mating in lizards, it is als...
Today, Diploglossine lizards (Anguidae) are common on the Greater Antillean Islands (West Indies), where they are represented by many endemic species. However these lizards are very rare on the Lesser Antillean Islands, where they are only represented by a single species, the Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati). Here, we show that dip...
Frogs are the most species rich and ecologically diverse group of amphibians and are characterized by a unique body plan including long legs, elongated ilia, and fused caudal vertebrae. Stem anurans such as Triadobatrachus or Czatkobatrachus have been suggested to use jumping or hopping as part of their locomotor repertoire based on their anatomy....
The Hula Painted Frog (Latonia nigriventer) is a rare frog species endemic to the Hula Valley, Israel. The species is the sole relict of a clade that was widespread mainly in Europe from the Oligocene until the beginning of the Pleistocene. The osteological characteristics of L. nigriventer are described based on X-ray microtomography scans of exta...
3D methods are gaining importance in the reconstruction of paleontological objects for illustration of scientific purposes and popularization.
The availability of various methods, mainly techniques using X-rays, has enabled a very rapid development of powerful tools ; among the best ones we find large equipment such as synchrotron facilities and CT...
In this paper, ultrasound measurements of 1:1 scale three-dimensional(3D) printed trabecular bone phantoms are reported. The micro-structure of a trabecular horse bone sample was obtained via synchrotron x-ray microtomography, converted to a 3D binary data set, and successfully 3D-printed at scale 1:1. Ultrasound through-transmission experiments we...
The Hula Painted Frog (Latonia nigriventer)
is a rare frog species endemic to the Hula Valley,
Israel. The species is the sole relict of a clade that
was widespread mainly in Europe from the Oligocene
until the beginning of the Pleistocene. The osteological
characteristics of L. nigriventer are described based on
X-ray microtomography scans of exta...
Reporting the diet of recently extinct or very rare taxa, only known by a few museum specimens, is challenging. This study uses X-ray microtomography, a non-destructive investigation method, to obtain the first data about feeding behaviours in the Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati) by scanning one of the two specimens known to date....
The bony labyrinth provides a proxy for the morphology of the inner ear, a primary cognitive organ involved in hearing, body perception in space, and balance in vertebrates. Bony labyrinth shape variations often are attributed to phylogenetic and ecological factors. Here we use three-dimensional (3D) geometric morphometrics to examine the phylogene...
An incomplete ‘mummy’ from the Phosphorites du Quercy (presumed Eocene) was identified as a salamander during the 19th century. The specimen has now been computed tomography (CT) scanned, and this revealed the incomplete skeleton (with perfectly preserved bones) and soft tissues (lung). The fossil represents a new, wellcharacterized taxon. Despite...
The HRD1 hominin maxilla was discovered during fieldwork carried out in the Republic of
Djibouti, eastern Africa, in the 1980s. The HRD1 specimen is attributed to the genus Homo and has been
dated from the Early to the Middle Pleistocene. This paper presents a detailed morphological and quantitative
description of the HRD1 maxilla. The morphology o...
Palaeobatrachidae are extinct frogs from Europe closely related to the Gondwanan Pipidae, which includes Xenopus. Their frontoparietal is a distinctive skeletal element which has served as a basis for establishing the genus Albionbatrachus. Because little was known about developmental and individual variation of the frontoparietal, and its usefulne...