This book presents selected works of contemporary evolutionary morphologists and includes such topics as broad scale reconstructions of the brain and ear of dinosaurs, inference of locomotor habits from cancellous bone architecture in fossil primates, and a comparison of the independently evolved manipulating apparatuses in the lesser and giant pandas. Insight is provided into the application of modern noninvasive technologies, including digital imaging techniques and virtual 3D reconstruction, to the investigation of complex anatomical features and coherences. In combination with traditional methods, this allows for the formulation of improved hypotheses on coordinated function and evolution. The creation of virtual translucent specimens makes it possible to realize the age-old dream of the classical anatomists: looking through the skin into the inner organization of an organism. On full display here is the dramatic and promising impact that modern imaging techniques have on scientific progress in evolutionary morphology.

Contenu
Head Anatomy of Male and Female Mongolian Gazelle A Striking Example of Sexual Dimorphism.- Anatomical Peculiarities of the Vocal Tract in Felids.- The Anatomical Foundation for Multidisciplinary Studies of Animal Limb Function: Examples from Dinosaur and Elephant Limb Imaging Studies.- Locomotion-related Femoral Trabecular Architectures in Primates High Resolution Computed Tomographies and Their Implications for Estimations of Locomotor Preferences of Fossil Primates.- Three-dimensional Imaging of the Manipulating Apparatus in the Lesser Panda and the Giant Panda.- Using CT to Peer into the Past: 3D Visualization of the Brain and Ear Regions of Birds, Crocodiles, and Nonavian Dinosaurs.- Evolutionary Morphology of the Autonomic Cardiac Nervous System in Non-human Primates and Humans.- Erratum.