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Evolution of a high-performance and functionally robust musculoskeletal system in salamanders.
Stephen M Deban1, Jeffrey A Scales2, Segall V Bloom3
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620; sdeban@usf.edu.
Summary
Evolution in salamander tongue projection transformed muscle power into elastic recoil. This enhanced performance and thermal robustness, appearing in parallel across major salamander groups without intermediate stages.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Biomechanics
- Herpetology
Background:
- Plethodontid salamanders exhibit ballistic tongue projection, a high-performance musculoskeletal system.
- Understanding the assembly of extreme performance traits in evolution is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary assembly of extreme performance in salamander tongue projection.
- To examine how morphology, neural control, and muscle physiology contribute to performance and thermal robustness.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of whole-organism performance across temperatures.
- Examination of musculoskeletal morphology of the tongue apparatus.
- Integration with data on muscle contractile physiology and neural control within a phylogenetic framework.
Main Results:
- Minor evolutionary changes in morphology and neural control shifted the system from muscle-powered to spring-powered.
- This transformation resulted in extreme performance and functional robustness despite conserved muscle physiology.
- Parallel evolution of these changes occurred in both major plethodontid clades.
- High-performance tongue projection and thermal robustness were found to coevolve due to an elastic-recoil mechanism.
Conclusions:
- The evolution of ballistic tongue projection in salamanders demonstrates a shift from muscle-driven to elastic-recoil systems.
- This evolutionary pathway leads to high performance and thermal robustness, with no evidence of intermediate elastic mechanisms.
- Similar trait coevolution may occur in other ectothermic animals with high-performance needs and thermoregulatory challenges.
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