Transitions in Skeletal Form

An understanding of the potential of development to potentiate growth and form is to address the changes that occurred in the evolution of novel structures. Vertebrate skeletons have elaborated greatly to support novel environments, change in locomotion, and feeding strategies. This malleable attribute is due to changes in developmental mechanisms. We focus on key transitions in the evolution of vertebrate skeletons, that of the origin of limbs and jaws, and the articulation of the spine.

transition spine chart.
Evolution of backbones and the masking of common rules for patterning of spines (see Current Biology paper Peskin et al 2020).