Project

Grasping onto evolution: testing hypotheses on adaptive evolution of animal prehensile systems

Code
3G006716
Duration
01 January 2016 → 31 December 2019
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Animal morphology, anatomy and physiology
    • Vertebrate biology
    • Biology of adaptation
    • Phylogeny and comparative analysis
  • Engineering and technology
    • Design theories and methods not elsewhere classified
Keywords
biomechanics prehensile tail invertebrates 3d printing morphology Biomimetics
 
Project description

Prehensile systems have evolved multiple times independently among vertebrates. Prehensile tails is just one of those, which can be found in fishes, reptiles and mammals. With this project, we want to study how the musculoskeletal system has become adapted for this function, by performing biomechanical analyses and testing models using 3D printing. From that, we can also derive potential applications in industry or biomedical sciences.