Developmental origins of the urostyle

A study examining the developmental origins of the frog urostyle–a unique structure that evolved around 200 million years ago and forms during metamorphosis as the tail regresses and axial locomotion in larve gives way to limb-driven movement in adults–finds that thyroid hormone-mediated ossification and expansion of the hypochord, a key component of the urostyle, played a major role in tail loss, rearrangement of the dorsal aorta, and evolution of the body plan of Anura, the amphibian order that includes frogs.

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Article # 19-17506: “Ontogeny of the anuran urostyle and the developmental context of evolutionary novelty,” by Gayani Senevirathne, Stephanie Baumgart, Nathaniel Shubin, James Hanken, and Neil H. Shubin.

MEDIA CONTACT: Neil Shubin, University of Chicago, IL; tel: 773-834-7472; e-mail: <

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