Silvia Moro

Cranial Musculature of South American Gekkonidae

The cranial myology of 13 South American geckos was compared and analyzed for taxonomic significance. The general pattern emerges that muscles in this group do not vary substantially from those of other lizards, except that the geckonids have fewer muscle layers. The former condition is particularly important with respect to the adductor musculature of the jaw, given its fundamental role in the chewing process. A great variety of lizards, both those with the geckonid bauplan and those with other morphologies exhibit similar basic structures in the jaw adductor muscles, despite significant differences in diet. There appears to be no direct correlation between diet and the morphology of head musculature of lizards. It is hypothesized that differences between and within bauplans can be ascribed to phylogenetic factors rather than to functional characteristics such as diet and life‐styles.

Análisis descriptivo de la miología flexora y extensora del miembro anterior de Polychrus acutirostris (Squamata, Polychrotidae)

Se describe la musculatura de la extremidad anterior de Polychrus acutirostris. Se analizo la anatomia de los musculos flexores y extensores, tomandose en cuenta para cada uno los sitios de origen e insercion y las caracteristicas principales. Los objetivos principales de este trabajo son: contribuir a la identificacion de los complejos musculares del antebrazo y la mano; actualizar la nomenclatura de ciertos musculos complicados, y presentar un modelo de la musculatura de la extremidad anterior de un lagarto arboricola, que permita comparar con la anatomia muscular de lagartos con otros habitos locomotores.

Cranial myology of some species of Liolaemus and Phymaturus (Squamata: Tropiduridae: Liolaeminae)

The cranial musculature of 19 species of Liolaemus and two species of Phymaturus was compared and analyzed for taxonomic significance. Using 52 myological cranial characters a cladistic analysis of the taxa mentioned was performed. Parsimony analysis was conducted with the program Nona, and 180 equally parsimonious trees were obtained. In all of them the Tropidurinae are paraphyletic. The Liolaeminae are a monophyletic group. Phymaturus and Liolaemus are monophyletic groups, and the relationships among the species of Liolaemus remain unresolved.