Convergent Evolution of Manual and Pedal Grasping Capabilities in Tetrapods

E. POUYDEBAT; GRÉGOIRE BOULINGUEZ-AMBROISE; MANZANO, ADRIANA; ABDALA VIRGINIA; SUSTAITA, D

Convergent Evolution. Animal Form and Function

Springer

Año: 2023; p. 323 - 389

Grasping behavior and manipulation using the hand and/or foot is wide-spread among tetrapods and can be used in various contexts in the daily life of manyspecies. Activities such as feeding and movement through the environment may beassisted by grasping. Well-defined digits and digital musculature are synapomor-phies of the tetrapod clade and from this foundation other features, such as opposabledigits and tendon configurations, have evolved independently in many lineages. Theevolutionary transitions leading to grasping and manipulative behaviors are complexand require better understanding. Here we survey the evolution of graspingautopodia and their forms and functions across four major tetrapod clades, revealingthat the underlying morphological bases and ecological factors may differ amongtetrapods. Further interdisciplinary approaches, including eco-ethology, morphology, biomechanics, ontogeny, and even genetics, relating to grasping formand function within and among tetrapods must be developed for a better understand-ing of the role that object/substrate/food grasping abilities play in the evolutionarysuccess of several tetrapod lineages.