Comparative anatomy and evolution of the odontocete forelimb
Comparative anatomy and evolution of the odontocete forelimb
Comparative anatomy and evolution of the odontocete forelimb
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12 MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, VOL. **, NO. **, 2009<br />
Figure 4. Three <strong>odontocete</strong> flipper shapes described during this study based on aspect ratio<br />
(AR) <strong>and</strong> shape <strong>of</strong> tip.<br />
commersonii. G. melaena <strong>and</strong> G. macrorhynchus have <strong>the</strong> narrowest <strong>and</strong> most elongated<br />
flippers whereas O. orca has <strong>the</strong> most circular flipper (Fig. 4).<br />
Character Mapping <strong>and</strong> Ancestral State Reconstructions<br />
Optimization <strong>of</strong> characters onto a composite phylogeny was done in order to assess<br />
character state reconstructions. Each character was mapped in a “pie-model” form<br />
indicating <strong>the</strong> relative support for character states found at each node. This allowed<br />
<strong>the</strong> evaluation <strong>of</strong> character <strong>evolution</strong> among <strong>the</strong> species studied by observing <strong>the</strong><br />
character state reconstructions shown at <strong>the</strong> ancestral nodes. Only <strong>the</strong> characters with<br />
<strong>the</strong> most significant changes are discussed. The optimization <strong>of</strong> several characters is<br />
illustrated in Figures 5 <strong>and</strong> 6.
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