Divergent evolution of terrestrial locomotor abilities in extant Crocodylia.

Extant Crocodylia are exceptional because they employ almost the full range of quadrupedal footfall patterns ("gaits") used by mammals; including asymmetrical gaits such as galloping and bounding. Perhaps this capacity evolved in stem Crocodylomorpha, during the Triassic when taxa were smaller, terrestrial, and long-legged. However, confusion about which Crocodylia use asymmetrical gaits and why persists, impeding reconstructions of locomotor evolution.

Crocodylian Head Width Allometry and Phylogenetic Prediction of Body Size in Extinct Crocodyliforms.

Body size and body-size shifts broadly impact life-history parameters of all animals, which has made accurate body-size estimates for extinct taxa an important component of understanding their paleobiology. Among extinct crocodylians and their precursors (e.g.

Crocodiles Alter Skin Color in Response to Environmental Color Conditions.

Many species alter skin color to varying degrees and by different mechanisms. Here, we show that some crocodylians modify skin coloration in response to changing light and environmental conditions. Within the Family, Crocodylidae, all members of the genus Crocodylus lightened substantially when transitioned from dark enclosure to white enclosures, whereas Mecistops and Osteolaemus showed little/no change.

Insights into the ecology and evolutionary success of crocodilians revealed through bite-force and tooth-pressure experimentation.

Background: Crocodilians have dominated predatory niches at the water-land interface for over 85 million years. Like their ancestors, living species show substantial variation in their jaw proportions, dental form and body size. These differences are often assumed to reflect anatomical specialization related to feeding and niche occupation, but quantified data are scant.

Effects of somatostatin analogs on glucose homeostasis in rats.

Pasireotide (SOM230) is a multireceptor-targeted somatostatin analog with high binding affinity for sstr(1,2,3) and sstr(5). The effects of pasireotide and octreotide on blood glucose, insulin, and glucagon levels in rats were evaluated alone and in combination. Single-dose s.