ArticleJournal of anatomy2021
Paleobiological reconstructions of articular function require all six degrees of freedom.
Article in Journal of anatomy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- Layer-by-layer soft-tissue effects on flexion-extension-dominant passive ex vivo limb joint ROM in quadrupedal mammals: An anatomical contribution to a morphofunctional framework.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Powerful or non-powerful? Revisiting hallucal grasping as a key evolutionary innovation in small arboreal mammals.iScience · 2026Article
- Functional morphology and biomechanics of the locomotor apparatus in the large Late Triassic carnivore Postosuchus kirkpatricki (Archosauria: Rauisuchidae).Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Digital range of motion analysis is sensitive to subjective steps in joint model construction.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Scaling of internal joint distance in the elbow of small- to medium-sized mammals: Implications for range of motion analyses.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Hindlimb functional morphology and locomotor biomechanics of the small Late Triassic pseudosuchian reptile Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum (Archosauria: Gracilisuchidae).Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Bipedalism or bipedalisms: The os coxae of StW 573.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- First forelimb reconstruction and range of motion assessment of the Late Cretaceous dinosaurPeerJ · 2026Article
- Soft tissue constraints on joint mobility in the avian shoulder.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Biomechanical simulations of hindlimb function inScience advances · 2025Article
- Centres of rotation and osteological constraints on caudal ranges of motion in the sauropod dinosaurRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Hindlimb biomechanics of Lagosuchus talampayensis (Archosauria, Dinosauriformes), with comments on skeletal morphology.Journal of anatomy · 2025Article
- Biomechanical modeling of musculoskeletal function related to the terrestrial locomotion of Riojasuchus tenuisceps (Archosauria: Ornithosuchidae).Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2025Article
- Late acquisition of erect hindlimb posture and function in the forerunners of therian mammals.Science advances · 2024Article
- Articular surface interactions distinguish dinosaurian locomotor joint poses.Nature communications · 2024Article
- The functional significance of aberrant cervical counts in sloths: insights from automated exhaustive analysis of cervical range of motion.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- A comparative approach for characterizing the relationship among morphology, range-of-motion and locomotor behaviour in the primate shoulder.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Modern three-dimensional digital methods for studying locomotor biomechanics in tetrapods.The Journal of experimental biology · 2023Review
- Article
- Spherical frame projections for visualising joint range of motion, and a complementary method to capture mobility data.Journal of anatomy · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Paleobiologists typically exclude impossible joint poses from reconstructions of extinct animals by estimating the rotational range of motion (ROM) of fossil joints. However, this ubiquitous practice carries the assumption that osteological estimates of ROM consistently overestimate true joint mobility. Because studies founded on ROM-based exclusion have contributed substantially to our understanding of functional and locomotor evolution, it is critical that this assumption be tested. Here, we evaluate whether ROM-based exclusion is, as currently implemented, a reliable strategy. We measured the true mobilities of five intact cadaveric joints using marker-based X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology and compared them to virtual osteological estimates of ROM made allowing (a) only all three rotational, (b) all three rotational and one translational, and (c) all three rotational and all three translational degrees of freedom. We found that allowing combinations of motions in all six degrees of freedom is necessary to ensure that true mobility is always successfully captured. In other words, failing to include joint translations in ROM analyses results in the erroneous exclusion of many joint poses that are possible in life. We therefore suggest that the functional and evolutionary conclusions of existing paleobiological reconstructions may be weakened or even overturned when all six degrees of freedom are considered. We offer an expanded methodological framework for virtual ROM estimation including joint translations and outline recommendations for future ROM-based exclusion studies.
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