Homeotic transformations reflect departure from the mammalian ‘rule of seven’ cervical vertebrae in sloths: inferences on the Hox code and morphological modularity of the mammalian neck

Homeotic transformations reflect departure from the mammalian ‘rule of seven’ cervical vertebrae in sloths: inferences on the Hox code and morphological modularity of the mammalian neck

Abstract Background Sloths are one of only two exceptions to the mammalian ‘rule of seven’ vertebrae in the neck. As a striking case of breaking the evolutionary constraint, the explanation for the exceptional number of cervical vertebrae in sloths is still under debate. Two diverging hypotheses, bo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Christine Böhmer, Eli Amson, Patrick Arnold, Anneke H. van Heteren, John A. Nyakatura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2018-06-01
Series:BMC Evolutionary Biology
Subjects:
Axial patterning
Hox genes
Evolution
Constraint
Xenarthra
Cervical vertebrae
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-018-1202-5

Internet

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-018-1202-5

Similar Items