Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system

Abstract Foraging mode plays a pivotal role in traditional reconstructions of squamate evolution. Transitions between modes are said to spark concerted changes in the morphology, physiology, behaviour, and life history of lizards. With respect to their sensory systems, species that adopt a sit-and-w...

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Autores principales: Simon Baeckens, Anthony Herrel, Chris Broeckhoven, Menelia Vasilopoulou-Kampitsi, Katleen Huyghe, Jana Goyens, Raoul Van Damme
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Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2017
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/721611cc811c4da184b2596af24aa315
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:721611cc811c4da184b2596af24aa3152021-12-02T15:05:27ZEvolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system10.1038/s41598-017-09415-72045-2322https://doaj.org/article/721611cc811c4da184b2596af24aa3152017-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09415-7https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Foraging mode plays a pivotal role in traditional reconstructions of squamate evolution. Transitions between modes are said to spark concerted changes in the morphology, physiology, behaviour, and life history of lizards. With respect to their sensory systems, species that adopt a sit-and-wait strategy are thought to rely on visual cues primarily, while actively hunting species would predominantly use chemical information. The morphology of the tongue and the vomeronasal-organs is believed to mirror this dichotomy. Still, support for this idea of concerted evolution of the morphology of the lizard sensory system merely originates from studies comparing only a few, distantly related taxa that differ in many aspects of their biology besides foraging mode. Hence, we compared vomeronasal-lingual morphology among closely related lizard species (Lacertidae). Our findings show considerable interspecific variation indicating that the chemosensory system of lacertids has undergone substantial change over a short evolutionary time. Although our results imply independent evolution of tongue and vomeronasal-organ form, we find evidence for co-variation between sampler and sensor, hinting towards an ‘optimization’ for efficient chemoreception. Furthermore, our findings suggest species’ degree of investment in chemical signalling, and not foraging behaviour, as a leading factor driving the diversity in vomeronasal-lingual morphology among lacertid species.Simon BaeckensAnthony HerrelChris BroeckhovenMenelia Vasilopoulou-KampitsiKatleen HuygheJana GoyensRaoul Van DammeNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2017)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Simon Baeckens
Anthony Herrel
Chris Broeckhoven
Menelia Vasilopoulou-Kampitsi
Katleen Huyghe
Jana Goyens
Raoul Van Damme
Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
description Abstract Foraging mode plays a pivotal role in traditional reconstructions of squamate evolution. Transitions between modes are said to spark concerted changes in the morphology, physiology, behaviour, and life history of lizards. With respect to their sensory systems, species that adopt a sit-and-wait strategy are thought to rely on visual cues primarily, while actively hunting species would predominantly use chemical information. The morphology of the tongue and the vomeronasal-organs is believed to mirror this dichotomy. Still, support for this idea of concerted evolution of the morphology of the lizard sensory system merely originates from studies comparing only a few, distantly related taxa that differ in many aspects of their biology besides foraging mode. Hence, we compared vomeronasal-lingual morphology among closely related lizard species (Lacertidae). Our findings show considerable interspecific variation indicating that the chemosensory system of lacertids has undergone substantial change over a short evolutionary time. Although our results imply independent evolution of tongue and vomeronasal-organ form, we find evidence for co-variation between sampler and sensor, hinting towards an ‘optimization’ for efficient chemoreception. Furthermore, our findings suggest species’ degree of investment in chemical signalling, and not foraging behaviour, as a leading factor driving the diversity in vomeronasal-lingual morphology among lacertid species.
format article
author Simon Baeckens
Anthony Herrel
Chris Broeckhoven
Menelia Vasilopoulou-Kampitsi
Katleen Huyghe
Jana Goyens
Raoul Van Damme
author_facet Simon Baeckens
Anthony Herrel
Chris Broeckhoven
Menelia Vasilopoulou-Kampitsi
Katleen Huyghe
Jana Goyens
Raoul Van Damme
author_sort Simon Baeckens
title Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
title_short Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
title_full Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
title_fullStr Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
title_full_unstemmed Evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
title_sort evolutionary morphology of the lizard chemosensory system
publisher Nature Portfolio
publishDate 2017
url https://doaj.org/article/721611cc811c4da184b2596af24aa315
work_keys_str_mv AT simonbaeckens evolutionarymorphologyofthelizardchemosensorysystem
AT anthonyherrel evolutionarymorphologyofthelizardchemosensorysystem
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AT katleenhuyghe evolutionarymorphologyofthelizardchemosensorysystem
AT janagoyens evolutionarymorphologyofthelizardchemosensorysystem
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