The skull of leporids (rabbits and hares) is highly transformed, typified by pronounced arching of the dorsal skull and ventral flexion of the facial region (i.e., facial tilt). Previous studies show that locomotor behavior influences aspects of cranial shape in leporids, and here we use an extensive 3D geometric morphometrics dataset to further explore what influences leporid cranial diversity...

Bone fusion has occurred repeatedly during skull evolution in all tetrapod lineages, leading to a reduction in the number of bones and an increase in their morphological complexity. The ontogeny of the human skull includes also bone fusions as part of its normal developmental process. However, several disruptions might cause premature closure of cranial sutures (craniosynostosis), reducing the ...

Metric and morphological techniques employed by forensic anthropologists for determination of race are reviewed. Included are several studies which examine cranial morphological techniques such as presence of the oval window of the inner ear, which occurs more frequently in Whites than in Native Americans; or the shape of the alveolar region which distinguishes between Asian, African, and North...

Although dissimilarities in cranial and post-cranial morphology among African pygmies groups have been recognized, comparative studies on skull morphology usually pull all pygmies together assuming that morphological characters are similar among them and different with respect to other populations. The main aim of this study is to compare cranial morphology between African pygmies and non-pygmi...

In spite of a long history of research in craniofacial biology the extent to which developmental cascades between the brain, the cranial base, and the face infl uences the evolution, development and variation of the skull, is not clear. is paper discusses aspects of these problems in terms a “systemsmodel” of morphological integration and modularity of human craniofacial morphology. is model pr...

The aim of this study was to clarify the inter-relationships between cranial base angle, the morphological variations of maxillofacial components, and growth of the anterior cranial base length. One hundred and twenty-two Japanese children aged 3-5 years with normal occlusion in the primary dentition were included in this investigation. To analyse the relationship between cranial base structure...

In anuran amphibians, cranial bones typically first form at metamorphosis when they rapidly invest or replace the cartilaginous larval skull. We describe early development of the first three bones to form in the Oriental fire-bellied toad, Bombina orientalis--the parasphenoid, the frontoparietal, and the exoccipital--based on examination of serial sections. Each of these bones is fully differen...

Development of the palate in vertebrates involves cranial neural crest migration, convergence of facial prominences and extension of the cartilaginous framework. Dysregulation of palatogenesis results in orofacial clefts, which represent the most common structural birth defects. Detailed analysis of zebrafish palatogenesis revealed distinct mechanisms of palatal morphogenesis: extension, prolif...