The Anatomical Foundation for Multidisciplinary Studies of Animal Limb Function: Examples from Dinosaur and Elephant Limb Imaging Studies

all we have to work with, at first. Yet that does not mean that behavior cannot be addressed by indirect scientific means. Here we use two intertwined case studies from our research on animal limb biomechanics, one on extinct dinosaurs and another on extant elephants, to illustrate how anatomical methods and evidence are used to solve basic questions. The dinosaur study is used to show how biomechanical computer modeling can reveal how extinct animal limbs functioned (with a substantial margin of error that can be addressed explicitly in the models). The elephant study is used to show how classical anatomical observation and threedimensional (3D) imaging have powerful synergy for characterising extant animal morphology, without biomechanical modeling, but also as a first step toward such modeling. We focus on how a combination of classical techniques (particularly dissection, osteology, and functional anatomy) and modern techniques (especially imaging and computer modeling) are integrated to reveal how limbs function, and how anatomy is related to behavioral analyses such as biomechanics. We hope that this might inspire other functional biologists, clinicians, or researchers in other disciplines to see how an integration of anatomical methods can yield exciting insights into animal function or behavior.