{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,8]],"date-time":"2026-02-08T00:51:25Z","timestamp":1770511885104,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":88,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2012,7,21]],"date-time":"2012-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1342828800000},"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":[[2012,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Unlike most tetrapods, in extant crocodylians the acetabulum is formed by only two of the three skeletal elements that constitute the pelvis, the ilium, and ischium. This peculiar arrangement is further confused by various observations that suggest the crocodylian pelvis initially develops from four skeletal elements: the ilium, ischium, pubis, and a novel element, the prepubis. According to one popular historical hypothesis, in crocodylians (and many extinct archosaurs), the pubis fuses with the ischium during skeletogenesis, leaving the prepubis as a distinct element, albeit one which is excluded from the acetabulum. Whereas the notion of a distinct prepubic element was once a topic of considerable interest, it has never been properly resolved. Here, we combine data gleaned from a developmental series of <jats:italic>Alligator mississippiensis<\/jats:italic> embryos, with a revised interpretation of fossil evidence from numerous outgroups to Crocodylia. We demonstrate that the modern crocodylian pelvis is composed of only three elements: the ilium, ischium, and pubis. The reported fourth pelvic element is an unossified portion of the ischium. Interpretations of pelvic skeletal homology have featured prominently in sauropsid systematics, and the unambiguous identification of the crocodylian pubis provides an important contribution to address larger scale evolutionary questions associated with locomotion and respiration. J. Morphol. , 2012. \u00a9 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/jmor.20059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2012,7,21]],"date-time":"2012-07-21T13:25:57Z","timestamp":1342877157000},"page":"1185-1198","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["The evolution, development and skeletal identity of the crocodylian pelvis: Revisiting a forgotten scientific debate"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"273","author":[{"given":"Leon P.A.M.","family":"Claessens","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Matthew K.","family":"Vickaryous","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_6_2_1","first-page":"206","volume-title":"A Descriptive Catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay","author":"Andrews 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