ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2023
Modularity, homology, heterochrony: Gavin de Beer's legacy to the mammalian skull.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prenatal growth patterns of the upper jaw complex with implications for laryngeal echolocation in bats.Journal of anatomy · 2025Article
- Allometry and phylogenetic divergence: Correspondence or incongruence?Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2025Article
- The mammalian skull: development, structure and function.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Modularity (segmentation), homology and heterochrony were essential concepts embraced by Gavin de Beer in his studies of the development and evolution of the vertebrate skull. While his pioneering contributions have stood the test of time, our understanding of the biological processes that underlie each concept has evolved. We assess de Beer's initial training as an experimental embryologist; his switch to comparative and descriptive studies of skulls, jaws and middle ear ossicles; and his later research on the mammalian skull, including his approach to head segmentation. The role of cells of neural crest and mesodermal origin in skull development, and developmental, palaeontological and molecular evidence for the origin of middle ear ossicles in the evolutionary transition from reptiles to mammals are used to illustrate our current understanding of modularity, homology and heterochrony. This article is part of the theme issue 'The mammalian skull: development, structure and function'.
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