Dental wear gradient in rats

Teeth are in direct contact with the animal’s food. The interaction leaves marks on the enamel and these wear patterns can be assessed quantitatively via dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA). In addition to food...

World Lagomorpha Conference in Belfast

When you hear the word hare, the image of a typical long-eared, jumping, small, furry animal comes to mind. However, the taxon Lagomorpha conceals a much greater diversity of animals. In addition to the...

An extraordinary long neck

The neck of Tanystropheus – an extinct reptile from the Triassic – is more than twice as long as the animal’s body. Not only is the neck length unusual, but also the small number...

ICVM 2023 in Cairns, Australia

The International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology ICVM took place in Cairns, Australien. It is one of the most important scientific events for vertebrate zoologists and functional morphologists.It offers an excellent platform to present and...

A look into the mouth of sharks

Classically, diversification of fish is thought to involve an onshore-offshore gradient; i.e., species originate on nearshore environments and later expand offshore in their evolutionary history. Sharks are a group of cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes) with...

Woodpeckers – Tough animals

Woodpeckers are well known for their pecking behavior. They hit with their beak on trees for feeding, nesting and also to mark their territory. Enormous forces act on the bird’s body during impact. This...