Skull evolution and lineage diversification in endemic Malagasy carnivorans.

Madagascar is one of the world's foremost biodiversity hotspots with more than 90% of its species endemic to the island. Malagasy carnivorans are one of only four extant terrestrial mammalian clades endemic to Madagascar. Although there are only eight extant species, these carnivorans exhibit remarkable phenotypic and ecological diversity that is often hypothesized to have diversified through an adaptive radiation.

Scaling patterns of body plans differ among squirrel ecotypes.

Body size is often hypothesized to facilitate or constrain morphological diversity in the cranial, appendicular, and axial skeletons. However, how overall body shape scales with body size (, body shape allometry) and whether these scaling patterns differ between ecological groups remains poorly investigated. Here, we test whether and how the relationships between body shape, body size, and limb lengths differ among species with different locomotor specializations, and describe the underlying morphological components that contribute to body shape evolution among squirrel (Sciuridae) ecotypes.