Anatomy and development of the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus: an evolutionary perspective on the superfamily Vombatoidea. Export

@article{citeulike:524870, abstract = {Fifteen koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)--5 pouched young from 4 to 6.5 months and 10 adults from 5 to 16.5 years--were analyzed for functional parameters (body composition, limb segment and muscle mass, post-cranial skeletal characters) and developmental expressions (growth of body, brain, musculature). These data were compared with a convergent eutherian, the three-toed sloth, Bradypus infuscatus, and with the koala's distant (Macropodid; wallabies) and proximate (Vombatid; wombats) marsupial relatives. Musculoskeletal structures correlated with sitting and climbing; the growth of the young and the physiological demands of adulthood correlated with the low-quality diet of Eucalyptus foliage. The gestalt of the ancestral Vombatoids (pronograde quadrupeds, generalist browsers and social conservatives with low basal metabolism and attenuated development) provided the baseline essential for their locomotor and nutritional divergence into arboreal browsers, the koalas, and fossorial grazers, the wombats.}, address = {Department of Pathology, National Zoological Park, Washington DC 20008, USA. grandt@nzp.si.edu}, author = {Grand, T. I. and Barboza, P. S.}, citeulike-article-id = {524870}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303907}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=11303907}, issn = {0340-2061}, journal = {Anat Embryol (Berl)}, keywords = {anatomy, koala}, month = {March}, number = {3}, pages = {211--223}, posted-at = {2006-03-01 08:23:21}, priority = {2}, title = {Anatomy and development of the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus: an evolutionary perspective on the superfamily Vombatoidea.}, url = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303907}, volume = {203}, year = {2001} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:524870 L3 - citeulike-article-id:524870 N2 - Fifteen koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)--5 pouched young from 4 to 6.5 months and 10 adults from 5 to 16.5 years--were analyzed for functional parameters (body composition, limb segment and muscle mass, post-cranial skeletal characters) and developmental expressions (growth of body, brain, musculature). These data were compared with a convergent eutherian, the three-toed sloth, Bradypus infuscatus, and with the koala's distant (Macropodid; wallabies) and proximate (Vombatid; wombats) marsupial relatives. Musculoskeletal structures correlated with sitting and climbing; the growth of the young and the physiological demands of adulthood correlated with the low-quality diet of Eucalyptus foliage. The gestalt of the ancestral Vombatoids (pronograde quadrupeds, generalist browsers and social conservatives with low basal metabolism and attenuated development) provided the baseline essential for their locomotor and nutritional divergence into arboreal browsers, the koalas, and fossorial grazers, the wombats. IS - 3 JF - Anat Embryol (Berl) SN - 0340-2061 AD - Department of Pathology, National Zoological Park, Washington DC 20008, USA. grandt@nzp.si.edu EP - 223 TI - Anatomy and development of the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus: an evolutionary perspective on the superfamily Vombatoidea. VL - 203 SP - 211 KW - anatomy KW - koala AU - Grand, TI AU - Barboza, PS PY - 2001/03// UR - http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303907 ER -