Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
J Anat. 2022 Oct;241(4):1026-1038. doi: 10.1111/joa.13737. Epub 2022 Aug 12.
In tetrapods, fusion between elements of the appendicular skeleton is thought to facilitate rapid movements during running, flying, and jumping. Although such fusion is widespread, frogs stand out because adults of all living species exhibit fusion of the zeugopod elements (radius and ulna, tibia and fibula), regardless of jumping ability or locomotor mode. To better understand what drives the maintenance of limb bone fusion in frogs, we use finite element modeling methods to assess the functional consequences of fusion in the anuran radioulna, the forearm bone of frogs that is important to both locomotion and mating behavior (amplexus). Using CT scans of museum specimens, measurement tools, and mesh-editing software, we evaluated how different degrees of fusion between the radius and ulna affect the von Mises stress and bending resistance of the radioulna in three loading scenarios: landing, amplexus, and long-axis loading conditions. We find that the semi-fused state observed in the radioulna exhibits less von Mises stress and more resistance to bending than unfused or completely fused models in all three scenarios. Our results suggest that radioulna morphology is optimized to minimize von Mises stress across different loading regimes while also minimizing volume. We contextualize our findings in an evaluation of the diversity of anuran radioulnae, which reveals unique, permanent pronation of the radioulna in frogs and substantial variation in wall thickness. This work provides new insight into the functional consequences of limb bone fusion in anuran evolution.
在四足动物中,附肢骨骼元素的融合被认为有助于在奔跑、飞行和跳跃时进行快速运动。尽管这种融合很普遍,但青蛙却很突出,因为所有现存物种的成年个体都表现出附肢骨骼元素(桡骨和尺骨、胫骨和腓骨)的融合,而不管其跳跃能力或运动模式如何。为了更好地理解是什么驱动了青蛙肢体骨骼融合的维持,我们使用有限元建模方法来评估青蛙前臂骨骼桡尺骨融合的功能后果,该骨骼对运动和交配行为(抱握)都很重要。我们使用博物馆标本的 CT 扫描、测量工具和网格编辑软件,评估了桡骨和尺骨之间不同程度的融合如何影响桡尺骨在三种加载情况(着陆、抱握和长轴加载条件)下的 von Mises 应力和抗弯能力。我们发现,在所有三种情况下,与未融合或完全融合的模型相比,在桡尺骨中观察到的半融合状态表现出较低的 von Mises 应力和更高的抗弯阻力。我们的结果表明,桡尺骨形态被优化为在不同的加载状态下最小化 von Mises 应力,同时最小化体积。我们将我们的发现置于对不同的蛙类桡尺骨多样性的评估中,这揭示了在青蛙中桡尺骨的独特、永久性的旋前以及壁厚度的显著变化。这项工作为研究四足动物进化中肢体骨骼融合的功能后果提供了新的视角。