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Related Concept Videos

Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age01:09

Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age

The upper and lower limb initially develops as a small bulge called a limb bud, which appears on the lateral side of the early embryo. The upper limb bud appears near the end of the fourth week of development, with the lower limb bud appearing shortly after.
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
Development of the Limb Synovial Joints01:07

Development of the Limb Synovial Joints

Joints form during embryonic development in conjunction with the formation and growth of the associated bones. The embryonic tissue that gives rise to all bones, cartilage, and connective tissues of the body is called mesenchyme.
The mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into chondrocytes that form the hyaline cartilage, and later the cartilaginous model of the bone. This model further transforms into a bone. This process is known as endochondral ossification.
During development, the limbs...
Phylogeny01:23

Phylogeny

Phylogeny is concerned with the evolutionary diversification of organisms or groups of organisms. A group of organisms with a name is called a taxon (singular). Taxa (plural) can span different levels of the evolutionary hierarchy. For instance, the group containing all birds is a taxon (comprising the class Aves), and the group of all species of daisies (the genus Bellis) is a taxon. Phylogenies can likewise include just one genus (i.e., depict species relationships) or span an entire...
Phylogenetic Trees03:21

Phylogenetic Trees

Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.The length of the branches can depict time or the relative amount of change among organisms. For instance, the branch length might indicate the number of amino acid changes in the sequence that underlies the...
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

Speciation can proceed at markedly different rates, and evolutionary biologists commonly describe these differences through the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Both patterns explain how new species arise, but they differ in the tempo and continuity of evolutionary change. In both cases, evolutionary change arises from heritable variation within populations, with natural selection often shaping traits that improve survival and reproduction under specific environmental conditions.
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Application of Impermeable Barriers Combined with Candidate Factor Soaked Beads to Study Inductive Signals in the Chick
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Published on: November 17, 2016

Forelimb-hindlimb developmental timing changes across tetrapod phylogeny.

Olaf R P Bininda-Emonds1, Jonathan E Jeffery, Marcelo R Sánchez-Villagra

  • 1Institute of Biology, University of Leiden, Kaiserstraat 63, 2311GP, Leiden, The Netherlands. Olaf.Bininda@uni-jena.de

BMC Evolutionary Biology
|October 3, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Tetrapod limb development timing (heterochrony) shows clade-specific patterns, with most species exhibiting synchronized forelimb and hindlimb development. Major heterochronic shifts are rare, suggesting developmental timing is a conservative phylogenetic trait.

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Published on: February 2, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Comparative Anatomy

Background:

  • Tetrapods display diverse limb structures linked to locomotion and life history.
  • Investigating developmental timing (heterochrony) offers insights into limb morphological diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantitatively examine the relationship between heterochrony and the evolution of tetrapod limb diversity.
  • To analyze the relative developmental timing of forelimbs versus hindlimbs across various tetrapod species.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 138 embryos from 14 diverse tetrapod species.
  • Utilized whole-mounts and histological sections to code 10 key developmental events.
  • Examined developmental landmarks from early bud stage to late chondrogenesis for both limb types.

Main Results:

  • A clade-specific pattern of limb development timing was observed.
  • Primitive condition shows pectoral fin development preceding pelvic fin development.
  • Most species exhibited near-synchronous forelimb and hindlimb development, with exceptions in anurans and marsupials.

Conclusions:

  • Significant heterochronic changes in early limb development are uncommon in major tetrapod clades, except Lissamphibia.
  • Limb developmental timing is largely conserved and not easily linked to adult adaptive morphology.
  • Chondrogenetic pattern changes can serve as valuable higher-level phylogenetic characters.
  • Allometric heterochrony plays a more significant role in shaping adult limb morphology.