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Implications of Vertebral Morphology for Locomotor Evolution in Early Cetacea

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The Emergence of Whales

Part of the book series: Advances in Vertebrate Paleobiology ((AIVP,volume 1))

Abstract

Living whales are among the small number of swimming tetrapods that locomote axially. It is clear that members of their terrestrial sister group, mesonychian condylarths (Prothero et al., 1988; Thewissen, 1994), were quadrupedal. The transition from a terrestrial habitat and paraxial, oscillatory limb locomotion to an aquatic habitat and axial undulatory locomotion was accompanied by marked changes in postcranial anatomy. Aspects of this locomotor transition can be reconstructed from a study of the vertebral columns of mesonychids and fossil and living whales. Examination of regional variation within the axial skeleton is a powerful and underutilized tool for the analysis of locomotor style (Slijper, 1946, 1961; Worthington and Wake, 1972; Crovetto, 1991; Long et al., 1997). Although almost invariably fragmentary, early cetacean postcranial skeletons are surprisingly informative, and can complement morphological indicators of diet, sensory specializations, and skull reorganization to fill in some of the gaps in our understanding of the dramatic transition of early cetaceans as they moved from land to water.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 02181, USA

    Emily A. Buchholtz

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  1. Emily A. Buchholtz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272, USA

    J. G. M. Thewissen

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Buchholtz, E.A. (1998). Implications of Vertebral Morphology for Locomotor Evolution in Early Cetacea. In: Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds) The Emergence of Whales. Advances in Vertebrate Paleobiology, vol 1. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0159-0_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0159-0_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0161-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0159-0

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