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Testing for historical patterns of change: a case study with frog pectoral girdles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Sharon B. Emerson
Sharon B. Emerson*
Affiliation:
Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lakeshore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605.
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Abstract

Evolutionary morphologists and paleontologists have long questioned whether there are general historical patterns to the distribution of morphological types. Few studies have rigorously addressed that question. This study tests the decoupling hypothesis, which predicts an increase in the number of morphological constraints with a reduction in the number of independent elements. Eight cases of historical transformation of the epicoracoid cartilages of frogs were selected for analysis. Similar morphological shape changes occurred across the independently derived historical transformations as determined by a triangle analysis of shape. These results support the decoupling hypothesis and indicate that there may be generalized historical pathways of structural change. This finding is important for the development of a predictive theory in evolutionary morphology.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , Spring 1988 , pp. 174 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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