Reposted by Dr Lucy Roberts
Fantastic research led by @lucyroberts.bsky.social examines the evolution of axial skeletal complexity in reptiles. Turns out the textbooks were wrong- highly complex vertebral columns evolve multiple times within amniotes!
Roberts, L.E., Head, J.J. Nat Commun (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s414...
doi.org
Evolution of the reptile spine reveals independent trajectories to axial skeletal complexity in amniotes - Nature Communications
Complex axial skeletal morphology has evolved in mammals and some reptiles. Here the authors combine morphometrics with a maximum likelihood model to find that axial heterogeneity is associated with b...
