Current Zoology最新文献_第2页

Cell cycle of Trypanosoma epinepheli bloodstream forms in vivo and in vitro. 在体内和体外形成了肾上腺锥虫血流的细胞周期。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-10-15 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf067

Yu-Bei Liang, Ke Chen, Zhi-Qiang Xie, Peng Zhang, Geoff Hide, Xiaokun Hong, De-Hua Lai, Zhao-Rong Lun

{"title":"Cell cycle of Trypanosoma epinepheli bloodstream forms in vivo and in vitro.","authors":"Yu-Bei Liang, Ke Chen, Zhi-Qiang Xie, Peng Zhang, Geoff Hide, Xiaokun Hong, De-Hua Lai, Zhao-Rong Lun","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf067","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf067","url":null,"abstract":"Trypanosomes constitute a group of hemoflagellates that can infect many vertebrate species ranging from fish to humans. Most of the detailed studies are focused on mammalian trypanosomes of medical and veterinary importance. Although variations in cell cycle progression have been elucidated in mammalian trypanosomes, details of these processes remain elusive in other vertebrate trypanosomes. To address this, we established an in vitro culture and an in vivo fish model in tilapia to understand the cell morphology and cell division events of Trypanosoma epinepheli. The doubling time of T. epinepheli in vivo and cultured in vitro were 10.8 hours and 31.1 hours, respectively. We observed that the segregation movement of the kinetoplast and nucleus in T. epinepheli is distinct from mammalian trypanosomes but similar to that, previously described, for Trypanosoma carassii. Also, growth and shortening of the flagellum is coordinated with cell cycle phases. Finally, the detailed timing of cell cycle phases was determined by morphology and PI-stained flow cytometry and includes the G1, S, G2, M, division (D) and post-division (A) phases for the nucleus and/or kinetoplast, as well as the cytokinesis (C) phase. These findings shed light on the potential strategies for completing the cell division process and may facilitate future research on marine trypanosomes.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"548-556"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500163/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

SimCLR-enhanced MammalHairNet: advancing species identification through hair scale classification. simclr增强的哺乳动物毛发网：通过毛鳞分类推进物种鉴定。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-10-10 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf063

Zhihui Liu, Wenhui Niu, Yuxi Le, Yinan Gong, Wenxuan Zhao, Tianchun Pu, Daicheng Han, Jiatao Ge, Hong Gu, Yongxin Zhang, Limin Feng

{"title":"SimCLR-enhanced MammalHairNet: advancing species identification through hair scale classification.","authors":"Zhihui Liu, Wenhui Niu, Yuxi Le, Yinan Gong, Wenxuan Zhao, Tianchun Pu, Daicheng Han, Jiatao Ge, Hong Gu, Yongxin Zhang, Limin Feng","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf063","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf063","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study is to enhance the classification accuracy of mammalian hair scale images using deep learning techniques, particularly SimCLR (Simple Framework for Contrastive Learning of Visual Representations) pretraining with unlabeled data, providing reliable technical support for species identification. We created a mammalian scanning electron microscope image dataset of 9,953 valid images of 33 mammal species. Four segmentation models-U-Net, SegNet, DeepLabV3+, and Segment Anything Model (SAM)-were evaluated for performance. SAM achieved the highest segmentation accuracy overall, although minor errors were still observed in the delineation of scales with clearly defined edges. SimCLR was pretrained on 2 datasets: one containing all 33 species, and a subset of 25 species with over 200 images per species. These models achieved Top-1 accuracies of 94.64% and 94.40%, exceeding ResNet-50, EfficientNet_b0, and ViT-B/16 trained from scratch, comparable to transfer learning (pretrained on ImageNet) results of ResNet-50 and EfficientNet_b0, and superior to that of ViT-B/16. Score-CAM visualizations revealed that the network's attention was focused on image regions that correspond to the morphological features traditionally used for species identification, demonstrating strong biological interpretability. Additionally, t-SNE visualizations confirmed the model's ability to effectively distinguish between different species. Cosine distance-based clustering of species-specific scale features further highlighted interspecies similarity patterns and commonly misclassified species pairs. The results demonstrate that deep learning models, particularly with the integration of SimCLR pretraining, are highly effective in classifying mammalian hair scales, providing a reliable method for species identification.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"536-547"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500162/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Disentangling host identity and storage time effects on gut microbiota composition in captive migratory birds using absolute and relative quantification. 利用绝对定量和相对定量分析宿主身份和储存时间对圈养候鸟肠道微生物群组成的影响。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-10-03 eCollection Date: 2026-06-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf066

Cuiping Liu, Zhiyong Wu, Dongtao Li, Jiaxiao He, Guoliang Li, Fuwen Wei

{"title":"Disentangling host identity and storage time effects on gut microbiota composition in captive migratory birds using absolute and relative quantification.","authors":"Cuiping Liu, Zhiyong Wu, Dongtao Li, Jiaxiao He, Guoliang Li, Fuwen Wei","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf066","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf066","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding how gut microbiota support migratory birds is essential; yet, fecal sample freshness is often a challenge, particularly for rare species that cannot be captured directly. Here, we collected fecal samples from multiple captive migratory bird species at Nanchang Zoo and grouped them by post-defecation time (0, 1, 2, and 4 h). Using both relative and absolute quantification, we assessed the effects of host identity, short-term storage, and their interaction on gut microbiota composition. Species identity and quantification method significantly shaped microbiota profiles. Absolute quantification revealed Firmicutes (763,405.73 copies/μL) and Proteobacteria (340,231.03 copies/μL) as dominant in Grey-crowned Cranes, whereas relative quantification indicated Firmicutes (96.74%) predominated in Swan Geese and Proteobacteria (30.30%) in Black-necked Cranes. Red-crowned Cranes showed higher species richness than Black Swans and Swan Geese, with a significantly greater Shannon index than the latter. PCoA demonstrated clear interspecific differences, especially between crane and waterfowl lineages. Storage time had no significant effects on alpha and beta diversity across 6 species, except for reduced richness in Swan Geese at 2 and 4 h. While overall community structure was stable, a few conditionally rare taxa displayed time-sensitive shifts shortly after defecation. Our findings highlight that both host identity and quantification approach are critical determinants of avian gut microbiota profiles and emphasize that fecal sample freshness mainly affects rare taxa. This study provides methodological insights for optimizing fecal sampling protocols in field-based microbiome research on migratory birds.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 3","pages":"441-450"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13290400/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148334150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A multi-index approach to assessing foraging mode: a case study using chameleons. 一种评估觅食模式的多指标方法：以变色龙为例。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-09-17 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf065

Wade K Stanton-Jones, Krystal A Tolley, Jody M Barends, Graham J Alexander

{"title":"A multi-index approach to assessing foraging mode: a case study using chameleons.","authors":"Wade K Stanton-Jones, Krystal A Tolley, Jody M Barends, Graham J Alexander","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf065","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf065","url":null,"abstract":"Classifying the foraging mode of a species is challenging and is usually assessed through movement-based indices. Without considering what motivates movement, these indices may result in a biased interpretation of foraging mode-overlooking the fact that movement is influenced by multiple biological factors and not solely foraging. Conversely, while attack-based indices provide a more informative assessment of foraging mode because behavior is incorporated, the most comprehensive and reliable assessments should incorporate both movement- and attack-based indices. We applied a combination of movement- and attack-based indices to reevaluate foraging mode in chameleons, using Bradypodion pumilum as a case study. Focal observations were used to record the behaviors of 38 individuals, 12 of which were telemetered over two 10-day periods. Chameleons spent most of the day in stationary positions, perched in direct sunlight during mornings but in partial sunlight or shaded areas during afternoons. From >100 feeding events, chameleons had a significantly higher percentage of attacks and rate of attacks on prey while stationary than when moving. Most recorded intraspecific interactions were between females and males. Not only do our findings suggest that chameleons are motivated to move for several reasons but after considering life history traits in conjunction with our findings, we propose a paradigm shift in chameleon foraging mode suggesting that they should be considered ambush foragers instead of \"cruise foragers\" as previously classified. Overall, our findings demonstrate the importance of a multifaceted approach to foraging mode assessments, and we caution against using only one type of index in evaluations.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"475-485"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500167/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

The adaptive functions of routine allomaternal behavior in free-ranging Taihangshan macaques. 自由放养太行山猕猴常规异母行为的适应功能。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-09-17 eCollection Date: 2026-06-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf064

Yongman Guo, Paul A Garber, Jiqi Lu

{"title":"The adaptive functions of routine allomaternal behavior in free-ranging Taihangshan macaques.","authors":"Yongman Guo, Paul A Garber, Jiqi Lu","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf064","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf064","url":null,"abstract":"Allomaternal behavior, such as allonursing, provisioning, transporting, cleaning, and protection by group members other than the infant's mother, is widely observed in nonhuman primates. Reduced food availability, high predation risk, infanticide, and high maternal reproductive costs are proposed as selective factors promoting allomaternal care. In this study, we examined patterns of allomaternal behavior in a multimale-multifemale group of Taihangshan macaques (Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) inhabiting a cold (winter temperatures can reach -20 °C), high-latitude (34°54'-35°42'N) environment in northern China. We found that 42.45% (45/106) Taihangshan macaques engaged in allomaternal behavior, including 59.52% (25/42) adult females, 66.67% (6/9) adult males, 75% (9/12) subadult females, and 20.83% (5/24) juveniles. Nulliparous female caregivers exhibited significantly higher frequency of allomaternal care than multiparous females, and caregiving behavior was associated with higher infant survival among inexperienced females, supporting the predictions of the \"learning to mother hypothesis.\" Furthermore, the proportion of allomaternal care initiated by relatives was significantly higher than that initiated by nonrelatives, emphasizing the role of kinship in the evolution of allomaternal behavior in this species. Additionally, adult males participated in infant caretaking and provided more care to their genetic offspring compared with unrelated infants, which is consistent with the paternal investment hypothesis. Therefore, allomaternal caregiving appears to benefit mothers by reducing their infant care costs, while also providing inclusive fitness benefits and caregiving experience for caregivers.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 3","pages":"383-394"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13290395/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148334096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Reproductive stage affects the daily behavioral patterns of parthenogenetic marbled crayfish. 生殖阶段影响孤雌大理石纹小龙虾的日常行为模式。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-09-17 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf062

Koushik Das, Paride Balzani, Davinder Kaur, Jan Kubec, Miloš Buřič, Antonín Kouba, Marek Let

{"title":"Reproductive stage affects the daily behavioral patterns of parthenogenetic marbled crayfish.","authors":"Koushik Das, Paride Balzani, Davinder Kaur, Jan Kubec, Miloš Buřič, Antonín Kouba, Marek Let","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf062","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf062","url":null,"abstract":"Behavioral patterns are complex physiological and ethological phenomena usually synchronized with the day-night cycle. Reproduction is an important modulator of these activities in crayfish females with differences between non-reproductive and egg-carrying individuals. However, the behavioral pattern of maturing females with forming glair glands has never been assessed. Hence, we compared the behavioral patterns of non-reproductive, egg-carrying, and glair glands females of marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis, observing their behavior in an empty arena and in the presence of critical resources-shelter and food. Crayfish were video-recorded for 24 h and their activity, distance moved, and velocity analyzed. The results indicated distinct behavioral patterns linked to reproductive stages and resource availability. Specifically, non-reproductive females displayed higher activity levels than egg-carrying and glair glands females, which spent most of their time in the shelter. On the other hand, the presence of food increased the overall activity of glair glands compared with egg-carrying females and reduced shelter usage, highlighting a trade-off between foraging and safety. These findings demonstrated an interaction between the reproductive stage and resource acquisition behavior, providing insights into crayfish adaptive strategies and, in the context of invasive crayfish, potential impacts on ecosystem dynamics. This study highlights the importance of accounting for the reproductive stage and timing in experiments involving marbled crayfish or other crayfish species.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"523-535"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500160/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Fatty acids in breast milk during lactation in Ateles geoffroyi offspring in managed care and semi-free-ranging. 管理照料和半自由放养的geoffroyi后代哺乳期间母乳中的脂肪酸。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-09-08 eCollection Date: 2026-02-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf061

Ma de Jesús Rovirosa-Hernández, María Remedios Mendoza-López, Manuel Alejandro Cruz Aguilar, Juan Francisco Rodríguez-Landa, Mario Caba, Rael M Palestino-Sánchez, Francisco García-Orduña

引用次数: 0

Reactions of roe deer to human disturbances and wolf predation in a Polish forest. 波兰森林中狍对人类干扰和狼捕食的反应。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-08-28 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf059

Haidt Andżelika, Gawryś Radosław, Szewczyk Maciej, Kateryna Lipińska, Karolina Lubińska

{"title":"Reactions of roe deer to human disturbances and wolf predation in a Polish forest.","authors":"Haidt Andżelika, Gawryś Radosław, Szewczyk Maciej, Kateryna Lipińska, Karolina Lubińska","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf059","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf059","url":null,"abstract":"Antipredator responses of prey are important because of their potential trophic cascade effects. Predator responses are especially important for species that impact the economy, such as ungulates. Past research has focused on the behavioral adaptation of roe deer, the most common ungulate in Europe, to human and lynx pressure. However, the European wolf population has increased in the last decade and in some recently recolonized parts of Poland roe deer constitute the largest food source for wolves. Unlike in moose and red deer, no evidence has yet been found for changes in the vigilance-foraging time ratio in roe deer in response to wolves. We took the unique opportunity to study the behavior of roe deer during the partial recolonization by wolves of a large forest complex (Tuchola Forest) in Poland. Using video cameras, we found that roe deer react differently to the presence of wolves compared with humans. Wolf predation increases roe deer movement. In comparison, anthropopressure causes roe deer to mainly use an avoidance strategy, limiting their activity to times of day when people are not present. This temporal avoidance strategy was similar whether human pressure resulted from recreation or hunting.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"486-499"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500159/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Acoustic analysis in relation to kinship and familiarity for contact calls of adult female golden snub-nosed monkeys living in a multilevel society. 多层社会成年雌性金丝猴接触叫声的亲缘关系和熟悉度的声学分析。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-08-23 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf060

Wanyue Wei, Dongling Zhang, Jingyuan Yang, Junyu Luo, Long Chen, Xuecong Liu

{"title":"Acoustic analysis in relation to kinship and familiarity for contact calls of adult female golden snub-nosed monkeys living in a multilevel society.","authors":"Wanyue Wei, Dongling Zhang, Jingyuan Yang, Junyu Luo, Long Chen, Xuecong Liu","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf060","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf060","url":null,"abstract":"Kinship plays an essential role in the evolution of mammalian social behavior. The mechanisms of kin discrimination have attracted enduring interest, and phenotype matching and familiarity through prior association are the most likely ones among mammals. Previous studies on the mechanisms of kin discrimination based on acoustic signals have obtained inconsistent results. Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) are well-known for their multilevel social structure composed of several distinct units, the formation and stability of which largely depend on genetic relatedness among adult females. Taking advantage of the long-term demographic monitoring of a provisioned free-ranging group in Shennongjia National Park, China, this study provided a systematic acoustic analysis for contact calls of adult females in relation to kinship and familiarity. Results showed that structural similarities of contact calls between individuals did not vary among nonkin, distant kin, or close kin, while the calls exhibited clear individuality. Structural similarities of the calls between individuals significantly increased initially and then showed a tendency to decrease as the length of time co-resident in the same social unit (an index of familiarity) increased. Collectively, the acoustic structure was likely to reflect a dynamic tradeoff between maintaining social bonds and advertising individual identities. In addition, acoustic similarities decreased with age differences between individuals, likely due to age-related morphological changes in vocal apparatus. The results of this study improved the understanding of specific functions of contact calls and provided a basis for investigating kin discrimination mechanisms via acoustic signals in a primate living in multilevel societies.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"500-511"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500171/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Evolutionary patterns of nervous plexuses in 3 iguanid families (Pleurodonta): influence of phylogeny and sexual dimorphism. 三种鬣蜥科神经丛的进化模式：系统发育和两性二态性的影响。

IF 2.1 2区生物学

Current Zoology Pub Date : 2025-08-21 eCollection Date: 2026-08-01 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaf057

Exequiel Alejandro Navarro, Mario Ricardo Ruiz-Monachesi, Angel Matias Quipildor, Andres Sebastian Quinteros

{"title":"Evolutionary patterns of nervous plexuses in 3 iguanid families (Pleurodonta): influence of phylogeny and sexual dimorphism.","authors":"Exequiel Alejandro Navarro, Mario Ricardo Ruiz-Monachesi, Angel Matias Quipildor, Andres Sebastian Quinteros","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf057","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf057","url":null,"abstract":"Spinal nerves emerge from the spinal cord at the cervicothoracic and lumbosacral regions, where they anastomose to form nerve plexuses. Studies on the neuroanatomy of these plexuses have traditionally focused on descriptive aspects, with little consideration of evolutionary or phylogenetic contexts. South America hosts a diverse fauna of iguanian lizards, which have been the subject of multiple studies, some of which have reported evidence of sexual dimorphism. Considering this, we investigated the evolution of nerve plexuses and compared them between sexes in species of Leiosauridae, Liolaemidae, and Tropiduridae. To visualize the plexuses, we applied differential staining with Sudan Black and performed conventional dissections. Evolutionary analyses were conducted on 8 previously studied neuroanatomical characters using Bayesian inference and parsimony approaches. Our results show congruence between both optimality criteria. The most significant evolutionary variation was observed in Leiosauridae and Liolaemidae. Characters from the brachial plexus exhibited the highest phylogenetic signal and a low evolutionary rate. In contrast, characters from the lumbar plexus showed no phylogenetic signal and varied between sexes. Lumbar plexus traits evolved faster in males than in females. Our findings suggest that brachial plexus characters evolve under a strong phylogenetic influence. Instead, the lumbar plexus in males and females may be shaped by different selective pressures. Females exhibited more conservative traits, whereas males may be influenced by additional selective forces. Phylogeny and sexual dimorphism shape the evolution of the nerve plexuses in studied Pleurodont lizards. This study constitutes a first step toward understanding nervous plexuses from both perspectives in these reptiles.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 4","pages":"457-474"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500173/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0