- Project title
- Adaptive radiation of Malagasy lemurs from their craniofacial and brain endocast morphology
- Description of the project
- Lemurs are known to be a famous example of adaptive radiations in Madagascar. They show varied ecological characteristics in terms of activity patterns, diets, vocal communications, group size and so on. Such diversity in ecological characteristics is expected to influence craniofacial and brain shape, because these two anatomical parts integrates various niche-related elements such as vision, hearing, and locomotion. In this study, I will clarify how their cranium and brain evolved in respond to ecological characteristics and which cranium parts or brain functions were enhanced for which ecological characteristics. I will be able to demonstrate roles of the head in adaptive radiation, a phenomenon that have pivotal contributions for the creation of biodiversity on the earth.
Works done by the platform AST-RX