{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T11:50:18Z","timestamp":1790164218212,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2003,1,6]],"date-time":"2003-01-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1041811200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Journal of Morphology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2003,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>In this study, the axial skeletons of two Early Paleocene marsupials, <jats:italic>Mayulestes ferox<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Pucadelphys andinus<\/jats:italic>, were analyzed functionally and compared to that of six South American and three Australian species of extant marsupials. In the case of the South American opossums, myological data of the epaxial musculature were collected and analyzed and osteological\u2010myological associations were related to locomotor behavior. Various features of the vertebral column that relate to diet or to locomotor or postural patterns were pointed out. These features include: the craniocaudal development of the neural process of the axis; the position of the anticlinal vertebra; the morphology of the neural processes of the thoracolumbar vertebrae (orientation, length, and craniocaudal width); the length, orientation, and curvature of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae; and the length and robustness of the caudal vertebrae. In both fossil forms the vertebral column is mobile and allows a great range of flexion and extension of the spine, more so than in most of the living didelphids. It is emphasized here that the analysis of the axial skeleton complements and improves the conclusions provided by the forelimb and hindlimb analyses. It is proposed that <jats:italic>Mayulestes<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Pucadelphys<\/jats:italic> represent an ancestral morphotype suggesting that the generalized type of locomotion of Paleocene marsupials was partly terrestrial with some climbing ability. J. Morphol. 255:279\u2013300, 2003. \u00a9 2003 Wiley\u2010Liss, Inc.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/jmor.10062","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2003,1,9]],"date-time":"2003-01-09T21:06:43Z","timestamp":1042146403000},"page":"279-300","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":90,"title":["Functional\u2010adaptive anatomy of the axial skeleton of some extant marsupials and the paleobiology of the paleocene marsupials <i>mayulestes ferox<\/i> and <i>pucadelphys andinus<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"255","author":[{"given":"Christine","family":"Argot","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2003,1,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_1_2_1","first-page":"223","volume-title":"The functional and evolutionary biology of primates","author":"Ankel F","year":"1972"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/1097-4687(200101)247:1<51::AID-JMOR1003>3.0.CO;2-#"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jmor.1114"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_5_1","first-page":"373","article-title":"Influence du milieu sur l'activit\u00e9 locomotrice et la reproduction de Caluromys philander (L.)","volume":"36","author":"Atramentowicz M","year":"1982","journal-title":"Rev Ecol (Terre Vie)"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_6_1","first-page":"47","article-title":"La frugivorie opportuniste de trois marsupiaux didelphid\u00e9s de Guyane","volume":"43","author":"Atramentowicz M","year":"1988","journal-title":"Rev Ecol (Terre Vie)"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_7_1","first-page":"201","volume-title":"The baboon in medical research. 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