Abstract
In most terrestrial tetrapods, the transport of prey through the oral cavity is accomplished by movements of the hyolingual apparatus. Morphological specializations of the tongue in some lizard taxa are thought to be associated with the evolution of vomerolfaction as the main prey detection mode. Moreover, specializations of the tongue are hypothesized to compromise the efficiency of the tongue during transport; thus, driving the evolution of inertial transport. Here we use a large teiid lizard, Tupinambis merianae, as a model system to test the mechanical link between prey size and the use of inertial feeding. We hypothesize that an increase in prey size will lead to the increased recruitment of the cranio-cervical system for prey transport and a reduced involvement of the tongue and the hyolingual apparatus. Discriminant analyses of the kinematics of the cranio-cervical, jaw and hyolingual systems show that the transport of large prey is indeed associated with a greater utilization of the cranio-cervical system (i.e. neck and head positioning). The tongue retains a kinematic pattern characteristic of lingual transport in other lizards but only when processing small prey. Our data provide evidence for an integration of the hyolingual and cranio-cervical systems; thus, providing partial support for an evolutionary scenario whereby the specialization of the tongue for chemoreception has resulted in the evolution of inertial transport strategies.
Highlights
Food acquisition is an important activity that is directly linked to the survival and fitness of an individual
Kinematics of prey transport The following paragraphs will give a brief, qualitative overview of prey transport kinematics in T. merianae feeding on a single prey type that differs in its absolute size
The kinematic profiles are different in shape, magnitude and levels of variability (Figs 3–6), suggesting that prey size strongly affects the movements and actions of the cranio-cervical, jaw and hyolingual systems
Summary
Food acquisition is an important activity that is directly linked to the survival and fitness of an individual. The feeding system itself is highly complex and depends on the integration of the jaw, the hyolingual and cervical systems (Bels et al, 1994; Schwenk, 2000; Herrel et al, 2001; Bels, 2003; Vincent et al, 2006; Ross et al, 2007). Because of its integrated nature, the feeding system has been suggested to be constrained, and evolutionary specialization of individual components of the system may be limited (Bramble and Wake, 1985; Herrel et al, 2009). The decoupling of the hyobranchial system from its ancestral function during respiration in plethodontid salamanders allowed it to become a highly specialized ballistic tongue projection system (Wake and Deban, 2000)
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